Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Sep 2011
Multicenter StudyReal-time free cortisol quantification among critically ill children.
Ascertainment of adrenal function assessing free rather that total cortisol may be beneficial for the diagnosis of critical illness-related cortisol insufficiency. We hypothesized that centrifugal ultrafiltration would provide timely free cortisol data that highly correlated with the gold standard, but logistically cumbersome, equilibrium dialysis technique when the free cortisol fractions were identically quantified by chemiluminescence immunoassay. We also hypothesized that free cortisol would correlate with illness severity in a large cohort of critically ill children. ⋯ Determination of centrifugal ultrafiltration fractionated free cortisol was fast and results correlated highly with equilibrium dialysis fractionated free cortisol. Many children exhibited free cortisol <2 and <0.8 μg/dL but did not demonstrate clinical evidence of critical illness-related cortisol insufficiency. This study ascertains that real-time free cortisol quantification is feasible to potentially help guide clinical decision-making for cortisol replacement therapy in the pediatric intensive care unit.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Sep 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyRed blood cell transfusion thresholds in pediatric patients with sepsis.
In children with severe sepsis or septic shock, the optimal red blood cell transfusion threshold is unknown. We analyzed the subgroup of patients with sepsis and transfusion requirements in a pediatric intensive care unit study to determine the impact of a restrictive vs. liberal transfusion strategy on clinical outcome. ⋯ In this subgroup analysis of children with stable sepsis, we found no evidence that a restrictive red cell transfusion strategy, as compared to a liberal one, increased the rate of new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. Furthermore, a restrictive transfusion threshold significantly reduced exposure to blood products. Our data suggest that a hemoglobin level of 7.0 g/dL may be safe stabilized for children with sepsis, but further studies are required to support this recommendation.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
Multicenter StudySurvival of neonates with enteroviral myocarditis requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Neonates infected with enteroviruses may present with severe myocarditis and medically refractory cardiopulmonary collapse. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to support patients in this setting, but its efficacy has not been systematically studied. We sought to review the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry to determine survival rates and identify predictors of in hospital mortality for these neonates. ⋯ Cardiopulmonary support with ECMO should be considered for neonates with severe enteroviral myocarditis that fails conventional medical therapies. Multisystem organ dysfunction, particularly with renal involvement, may portend a poor prognosis and is one of several factors that should be considered in the decision to initiate and/or continue mechanical support for these patients.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Mar 2011
Multicenter StudyDaily practice of mechanical ventilation in Italian pediatric intensive care units: a prospective survey.
To assess how children requiring endotracheal intubation are mechanically ventilated in Italian pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). ⋯ Mechanical ventilation is frequently used in Italian PICUs with almost one child of two requiring endotracheal intubation. Children treated with MV represent a more severe category of patients than children who are breathing spontaneously. Describing the standard care and how MV is performed in children can be useful for future clinical studies.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Mar 2011
Multicenter StudyPerformance of the Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 for pediatric cardiac surgery patients.
To evaluate the performance of the Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 (PIM-2) for pediatric cardiac surgery patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). ⋯ The PIM-2 demonstrated poor performance with fair discrimination, poor calibration, and predictive ability for pediatric cardiac surgery population and thus cannot be recommended in its current form as an adequate adjustment tool for quality measurement in this patient group.