Respiratory Dysfunction Criteria in Critically Ill Children: The PODIUM Consensus Conference.

Context: Respiratory dysfunction is a component of every organ failure scoring system developed, reflecting the significance of the lung in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. However, existing systems do not reflect current practice and are not consistently evidence based.

Objective: We aimed to review the literature to identify the components of respiratory failure associated with outcomes in children, with the purpose of developing an operational and evidence-based definition of respiratory dysfunction.