Acute respiratory failure-related excess mortality in pediatric sepsis.

2023

05/2023

1468-3296

Excess mortality risk imparted by acute respiratory failure in children is unknown. We determined excess mortality risk associated with mechanically ventilated acute respiratory failure in pediatric sepsis. Novel ICD10-based algorithms were derived and validated to identify a surrogate for acute respiratory distress syndrome to calculate excess mortality risk. Algorithm-identified ARDS was identified with specificity of 96.7% (CI 93.0 - 98.9) and sensitivity of 70.5% (CI 44.0 - 89.7). Excess risk of mortality for ARDS was 24.4% (CI 22.9 - 26.2). Development of ARDS requiring mechanical ventilation imparts modest excess risk of mortality in septic children.

10.1136/thorax-2022-219961

Thorax

37225415

Alveolar dead space fraction is not associated with early RV systolic dysfunction in pediatric ARDS.

2023

559-565

02/2023

1099-0496

PRIMARY HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that higher alveolar dead space fraction (AVDSf) at pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) onset would be associated with right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction within the first 24 h of PARDS.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective single-center cohort study of PARDS patients with clinically obtained echocardiograms within 24 h. Primary exposure was AVDSf at PARDS onset. Primary outcome was RV systolic dysfunction as defined by RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) (>-18%). Secondary outcomes included pulmonary hypertension (PH) and RV systolic dysfunction as defined by other echocardiogram parameters, and measures of oxygenation. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic and linear regression were used to investigate AVDSf associations with outcomes.

RESULTS: Ninety-one patients were included: median age 6.2 years, 46% female, and 65% with moderate or severe PARDS. Median AVDSf was 0.2 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.0-0.3), 33% had RV dysfunction, and 21% had PH. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression showed no association between AVDSf and RV systolic dysfunction or PH by any echocardiographic measure, but unadjusted and adjusted linear regression did show an association between AVDSf and PaO /FiO .

CONCLUSION: AVDSf at PARDS onset was not associated with RV systolic dysfunction or PH within 24 h but was associated with PaO /FiO ratio and may be more reflective of pulmonary causes of ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Future investigations should focus on clarifying the clinical utility of AVDSf in relation to existing metrics throughout the course of PARDS.

10.1002/ppul.26237

Pediatr Pulmonol

36349816

Development and Implementation of a Bedside Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Service in a PICU.

2019

71-78

2019 01

1529-7535

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To create a bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service to increase placement of bedside peripherally inserted central catheter in PICU patients.</p>

<p><strong>DESIGN: </strong>Two-phase observational, pre-post design.</p>

<p><strong>SETTING: </strong>Single-center quaternary noncardiac PICU.</p>

<p><strong>PATIENTS: </strong>All patients admitted to the PICU.</p>

<p><strong>INTERVENTIONS: </strong>From June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2017, a bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service team was created (phase I) and expanded (phase II) as part of a quality improvement initiative. A multidisciplinary team developed a PICU peripherally inserted central catheter evaluation tool to identify amenable patients and to suggest location and provider for procedure performance. Outcome, process, and balancing metrics were evaluated.</p>

<p><strong>MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: </strong>Bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service placed 130 of 493 peripherally inserted central catheter (26%) resulting in 2,447 hospital central catheter days. A shift in bedside peripherally inserted central catheter centerline proportion occurred during both phases. Median time from order to catheter placement was reduced for peripherally inserted central catheters placed by bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service compared with placement in interventional radiology (6 hr [interquartile range, 2-23 hr] vs 34 hr [interquartile range, 19-61 hr]; p &lt; 0.001). Successful access was achieved by bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service providers in 96% of patients with central tip position in 97%. Bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service central line-associated bloodstream infection and venous thromboembolism rates were similar to rates for peripherally inserted central catheters placed in interventional radiology (all central line-associated bloodstream infection, 1.23 vs 2.18; p = 0.37 and venous thromboembolism, 1.63 vs 1.57; p = 0.91). Peripherally inserted central catheters in PICU patients had reduced in-hospital venous thromboembolism rate compared with PICU temporary catheter in PICU rate (1.59 vs 5.36; p &lt; 0.001).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service implementation increased bedside peripherally inserted central catheter placement and employed a patient-centered and timely process. Balancing metrics including central line-associated bloodstream infection and venous thromboembolism rates were not significantly different between peripherally inserted central catheters placed by bedside peripherally inserted central catheter service and those placed in interventional radiology.</p>

10.1097/PCC.0000000000001739

Pediatr Crit Care Med

30234675

Vancomycin Prescribing and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Children With and Without Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Arrest.

2019

2019 Mar 12

1179-2019

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Acute kidney injury (AKI) commonly occurs after cardiac arrest. Those subsequently treated with vancomycin are at additional risk for drug-induced kidney injury.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>We aimed to determine whether opportunities exist for improved drug monitoring after cardiac arrest.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>This was a retrospective cohort study of children aged 30&nbsp;days-17&nbsp;years treated after cardiac arrest in an intensive care unit from January 2010 to September 2014 who received vancomycin within 24&nbsp;h of arrest. Vancomycin dosing and monitoring were compared between those with and without AKI, with AKI defined as pRIFLE (pediatric risk, injury, failure, loss, end-stage renal disease) stage 2-3 AKI at day 5 using Schwartz formula-calculated estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Of 43 children, 16 (37%) had AKI at day 5. Age, arrest duration, median time to first vancomycin dose, and the number of doses before and time to first vancomycin concentration measurement were similar between groups. Children with AKI had higher initial vancomycin concentrations than those without AKI (median 16 vs. 7&nbsp;mg/L; p = 0.003). A concentration was not measured before the second dose in 44% of children with AKI. Initial eGFR predicted day 5 AKI. In children with AKI, the initial eGFR was lower in those with than those without a concentration measurement before the second dose (29&nbsp;mL/min/1.73&nbsp;m [interquartile range (IQR) 23-47] vs. 52 [IQR 50-57]; p = 0.03) but well below normal in both.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>In children with AKI after cardiac arrest, decreased vancomycin clearance was evident early, and early monitoring was not performed universally in those with low initial eGFR. Earlier vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring is indicated in this high-risk population.</p>

10.1007/s40272-019-00328-8

Paediatr Drugs

30864056

Pediatric continuity care intensivist: A randomized controlled trial.

2018

2018 Nov 20

1559-2030

<p><strong>INTRODUCTION: </strong>Long-stay critically ill patients in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) may be at risk for inconsistencies in treatment plan, delay in plan progression, and patient/family dissatisfaction with communication. This article describes the development and evaluation of an intervention designed to improve continuity and communication delivered by continuity PICU attendings.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS AND ANALYSIS: </strong>A randomized controlled trial of an intervention in one PICU that was randomized at the patient level. Eligible patients and their parents included those admitted to the PICU for longer than one week and were anticipated to remain for an additional 7 days. The intervention, a Continuity Care Intensivist (CCI), included early assignment of a continuity attending (separate from a regularly scheduled service attending), standardization of the continuity role to ensure consistent team and family contact and facilitate timely decision making, and enhancement of CCI communication skills. The outcomes evaluated were 1) patient PICU length of stay, ventilator-dependent days, and hospital acquired infections, 2) parental mood and satisfaction with PICU communication, and 3) intensivist perception of acceptability of intervention. Intention to treat analysis will be completed using multivariable linear regression to determine the impact of the intervention on outcomes. Lessons have been learned about the appropriate enrollment criteria for patients to allow for impact of continuity attending, frequent prognostic uncertainty in determining which patients will become longer stay in the PICU, and the difficulty of achieving timely initial contact of continuity attending with patients given the CCI's other commitments.</p>

10.1016/j.cct.2018.11.011

Contemp Clin Trials

30468772

How Can We Optimize Antibiotic Use in the PICU?

2017

903-904

2017 Sep

1529-7535

10.1097/PCC.0000000000001261

Pediatr Crit Care Med

28863095

Skeletal muscle and plasma concentrations of cefazolin during complex paediatric spinal surgery.

2016

87-94

2016 Jul

1471-6771

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Surgical site infections (SSIs) can have devastating consequences for children who undergo spinal instrumentation. Prospective evaluations of prophylactic cefazolin in this population are limited. The purpose of this study was to describe the pharmacokinetics and skeletal muscle disposition of prophylactic cefazolin in a paediatric population undergoing complex spinal surgery.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>This prospective pharmacokinetic study included 17 children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion, with a median age of 13.8 [interquartile range (IQR) 13.4-15.4] yr and a median weight of 60.6 (IQR 50.8-66.0) kg. A dosing strategy consistent with published guidelines was used. Serial plasma and skeletal muscle microdialysis samples were obtained during the operative procedure and unbound cefazolin concentrations measured. Non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analyses were performed. The amount of time that the concentration of unbound cefazolin exceeded the minimal inhibitory concentration for bacterial growth for selected SSI pathogens was calculated.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Skeletal muscle concentrations peaked at a median of 37.6 (IQR 26.8-40.0) µg ml(-1) within 30-60 min after the first cefazolin 30 mg kg(-1) dose. For patients who received a second 30 mg kg(-1) dose, the peak concentrations reached a median of 40.5 (IQR 30.8-45.7) µg ml(-1) within 30-60 min. The target cefazolin concentrations for SSI prophylaxis for meticillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and Gram-negative pathogens were exceeded in skeletal muscle 98.9 and 58.3% of the intraoperative time, respectively.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>For children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion, the cefazolin dosing strategy used in this study resulted in skeletal muscle concentrations that were likely not to be effective for intraoperative SSI prophylaxis against Gram-negative pathogens.</p>

10.1093/bja/aew032

Br J Anaesth

27317707

A pilot and feasibility study of the plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics of cefazolin in an immature porcine model of pediatric cardiac surgery.

2015

1111-9

2015 Nov

1460-9592

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Surgical site infection (SSI) prevention for children with congenital heart disease is imperative and methods to assess and evaluate the tissue concentrations of prophylactic antibiotics are important to help maximize these efforts.</p>

<p><strong>AIM: </strong>The purposes of this study were to determine the plasma and tissue concentrations with standard of care, perioperative cefazolin dosing in an immature porcine model of pediatric cardiac surgery, and to determine the feasibility of this model.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Piglets (3-5 days old) underwent either median sternotomy (MS) or cardiopulmonary bypass with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (CPB + DHCA) and received standard of care prophylactic cefazolin for the procedures. Serial plasma and microdialysis sampling of the skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissue adjacent to the surgical site was performed. Cefazolin concentrations were measured, noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analyses were performed, and tissue penetration of cefazolin was assessed.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Following the first intravenous dose, maximal cefazolin concentrations in the subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscle were similar between groups with peak tissue concentrations 15-30 min after administration. After the second cefazolin dose given with the initiation of CPB, total plasma cefazolin concentrations remained relatively constant until the end of DHCA and then decreased while muscle- and subcutaneous-unbound cefazolin concentrations showed a second peak during or after rewarming. For the MS group, 60-67% of the intraoperative time showed subcutaneous and skeletal muscle concentrations of cefazolin &gt;16 μg·ml(-1) while this percentage was 78-79% for the CPB + DHCA group. There was less tissue penetration of cefazolin in the group that underwent CBP + DHCA (P = 0.03).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The cefazolin dosing used in this study achieves plasma and tissue concentrations that should be effective against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus but may not be effective against some gram-negative pathogens. The timing of the cefazolin administration prior to incision and a second dose given during cardiopulmonary bypass may be important factors for achieving goal tissue concentrations.</p>

10.1111/pan.12756

Paediatr Anaesth

26372607