Clinical outcomes after utilizing surviving sepsis campaign in children with septic shock and prognostic value of initial plasma NT-proBNP.

Background And Objective: The surviving sepsis campaign treatment guideline (SSC) implementation is associated with improved outcome in adults with severe sepsis. The effect on outcome of pediatric sepsis is less clear.

Purpose: To determine the clinical outcomes of SSC implementation and to investigate the prognostic value of initial plasma NT-proBNP and procalcitonin in children.

Potent inflammatory cytokine response following lung volume recruitment maneuvers with HFOV in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objective: Lung volume recruitment maneuver (LVRM) may improve gas exchange but inflating the lungs to nearly vital capacity may cause further lung injuries. Our aim was to determine the potent inflammatory cytokine response following lung volume recruitment (LVRM) with high frequency oscillator ventilation (HFOV) in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Methods: We prospectively recruited pediatric patients (age >1 month - <15 year old) with a diagnosis of ARDS within 72 hrs of PICU admission.

The long duration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a child with acute severe hypoxic respiratory failure treated in a resource-limited center.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has been indicated in patients with severe refractory respiratory failure from various causes for more than 30 years, even for the small infant.(1) Improved outcome from using ECMO for respiratory failure has been reported worldwide, ranging from 15% to over 50% in recent reviews.(1,2) The rationale of this therapy is to allow time for the lungs to heal, minimizing further lung injury from positive pressure ventilation.