Transfusion-Associated Delirium in Children: No Difference Between Short Storage Versus Standard Issue RBCs.

Objectives: Primary objective is to determine if transfusion of short storage RBCs compared with standard issue RBCs reduced risk of delirium/coma in critically ill children. Secondary objective is to assess if RBC transfusion was independently associated with delirium/coma.

Design: This study was performed in two stages.

Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate (PODIUM) Contemporary Organ Dysfunction Criteria: Executive Summary.

Prior criteria for organ dysfunction in critically ill children were based mainly on expert opinion. We convened the Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate (PODIUM) expert panel to summarize data characterizing single and multiple organ dysfunction and to derive contemporary criteria for pediatric organ dysfunction. The panel was composed of 88 members representing 47 institutions and 7 countries.

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

Context: Previous criteria for coagulation dysfunction in critically ill children were based mainly on expert opinion.

Objective: To evaluate current evidence regarding coagulation tests associated with adverse outcomes in children to inform criteria for coagulation dysfunction during critical illness.

Data Sources: Electronic searches of PubMed and Embase were conducted from January 1992 to January 2020 by using a combination of medical subject heading terms and text words to define concepts of coagulation dysfunction, pediatric critical illness, and outcomes of interest.

Vasoactive-Inotropic Score and Vasoactive-Ventilation-Renal Score as Outcome Predictors for Children on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

We aimed to determine the association of vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) and vasoactive-ventilation-renal (VVR) score with in-hospital mortality and functional outcomes at discharge of children who receive ECMO. A sub-analysis of the multicenter, prospectively collected data by the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN) for Bleeding and Thrombosis on ECMO (BATE database) was conducted. Of the 514 patients who received ECMO across eight centers from December 2012 to February 2016, 421 were included in the analysis.

Evaluation of Severity of Illness Scores in the Pediatric ECMO Population.

Though commonly used for adjustment of risk, severity of illness and mortality risk prediction scores, based on the first 24 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, have not been validated in the pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) population. We aimed to determine the association of Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 (PIM2), Pediatric Risk of Mortality Score III (PRISM III) and Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD) scores with mortality in pediatric patients on ECMO. This was a retrospective cohort study of children ≤18 years of age included in the Pediatric ECMO Outcomes Registry (PEDECOR) from 2014 to 2018.

Association of Fluid Balance and Survival of Pediatric Patients Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

The effect of positive fluid balance (FB) on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) outcomes in pediatric patients remains unknown. We sought to evaluate if positive FB in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients with respiratory and/or cardiac failure necessitating ECMO was associated with increased morbidity or mortality. This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of data from the deidentified PEDiatric ECMO Outcomes Registry (PEDECOR).

Continuous Electroencephalogram and Antiseizure Medication Use in an International Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Population.

Background: Electrographic seizures are frequent and associated with worse outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite this, the use of continuous electroencephalogram (cEEG) remains low. Our study describes cEEG usage and treatment dosing antiseizure medications (ASMs) in an international pediatric TBI population, hypothesizing that children monitored with cEEG have an increased rate of treatment ASMs because of electrographic seizure detection, compared with children who are not monitored with cEEG.

Transfusion practices for pediatric oncology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients: Data from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III).

Background: To evaluate transfusion practices in pediatric oncology and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients.

Study Design And Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective study of children with oncologic diagnoses treated from 2013 to 2016 at hospitals participating in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III. Transfusion practices were evaluated by diagnosis codes and pre-transfusion laboratory values.

GCS-Pupil Score Has a Stronger Association with Mortality and Poor Functional Outcome than GCS Alone in Pediatric Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), used to classify the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is associated with mortality and functional outcomes. However, GCS can be affected by sedation and neuromuscular blockade. GCS-Pupil (GCS-P) score, calculated as GCS minus Pupil Reactivity Score (PRS), was shown to better predict outcomes in a retrospective cohort of adult TBI patients.

Transfusion Practices in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Requiring Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Secondary Analysis of a Clinical Database.

Objectives: To describe blood component usage in transfused children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery across perioperative settings and diagnostic categories.

Design: Datasets from U.S.

Life-Threatening Bleeding in Children: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: The purpose of our study was to describe children with life-threatening bleeding.

Design: We conducted a prospective observational study of children with life-threatening bleeding events.

Setting: Twenty-four childrens hospitals in the United States, Canada, and Italy participated.

Transfusion practices in a large cohort of hospitalized children.

Background: While previous studies have described the use of blood components in subsets of children, such as the critically ill, little is known about transfusion practices in hospitalized children across all departments and diagnostic categories. We sought to describe the utilization of red blood cell, platelet, plasma, and cryoprecipitate transfusions across hospital settings and diagnostic categories in a large cohort of hospitalized children.

Study Design And Methods: The public datasets from 11 US academic and community hospitals that participated in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) were accessed.

Use of Pharmacologic Prophylaxis Against Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalized Injured Children.

Despite a practice management guideline and risk prediction model for venous thromboembolism (VTE), pediatric-specific evidence on pharmacologic prophylaxis is lacking. In a retrospective study, we characterized receipt of prophylaxis and explored its effectiveness in hospitalized injured patients below 18 years old using data from the Trauma Quality Improvement Program. Concordance of receipt of prophylaxis with guideline and predicted risk of VTE was estimated using κ statistic.

Variation in Neonatal Transfusion Practice.

Objective: To estimate the incidence of blood product transfusion, including red blood cells, platelets, and plasma, and characterize pretransfusion hematologic values for infants during their initial hospitalization after birth.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study using data from 7 geographically diverse US academic and community hospitals that participated in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) from 2013 to 2016. Pretransfusion hematologic values were evaluated closest to each transfusion and no more than 24 hours beforehand.

Venovenous Versus Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation in Inotrope Dependent Pediatric Patients With Respiratory Failure.

Patients with respiratory failure requiring inotropes or vasopressors are often placed on venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), as venovenous (VV) ECMO does not provide direct circulatory support. This retrospective multicenter study compared outcomes for 103 pediatric patients, with hemodynamic compromise, placed on VV ECMO for respiratory failure to those placed on VA ECMO. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge.

Age-Dependent Heterogeneity in the Efficacy of Prophylaxis With Enoxaparin Against Catheter-Associated Thrombosis in Critically Ill Children: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Bayesian Phase 2b Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: We explored the age-dependent heterogeneity in the efficacy of prophylaxis with enoxaparin against central venous catheter-associated deep venous thrombosis in critically ill children.

Design: Post hoc analysis of a Bayesian phase 2b randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Seven PICUs.

Efficacy of Early Prophylaxis Against Catheter-Associated Thrombosis in Critically Ill Children: A Bayesian Phase 2b Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: We obtained preliminary evidence on the efficacy of early prophylaxis on the risk of central venous catheter-associated deep venous thrombosis and its effect on thrombin generation in critically ill children.

Design: Bayesian phase 2b randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Seven PICUs.

The Development of a Long Peripheral Catheter Program at a Large Pediatric Academic Center: A Pilot Study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a new long peripheral catheter (LPC) program at a large academic center in an effort to reduce the use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and their related complications.

Methods: The pilot participants were hospitalized children, age >2 years, with a need for noncentral intravenous access for 2 to 29 days, or laboratory blood draw >5 times per day. Patients expected to discharge with intravenous access were excluded.

Risks of venous thrombosis and bleeding in critically ill adolescents after trauma or major surgery.

Background: The risks of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and bleeding in critically ill adolescents based on interventions received and anatomic site of trauma or major surgery may identify a cohort eligible for enrollment in a trial of pharmacologic prophylaxis.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study using the Virtual Pediatric Systems database included adolescents admitted to pediatric intensive care units after trauma or major surgery between 2013 and 2017. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to determine the adjusted risks of VTE and bleeding with central venous catheterization (CVC), mechanical ventilation (MV) and anatomic site of trauma or major surgery.

Rates of Venous Thromboembolism and Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections Among Types of Central Venous Access Devices in Critically Ill Children.

Objectives: Central venous access devices, including peripherally inserted central catheters and central venous catheters, are often needed in critically ill patients, but also are associated with complications, including central-line associated bloodstream infections and venous thromboembolism. We compared different central venous access device types and these complications in the PICU.

Design: Multicenter, cohort study.

Outcomes of pediatric patients with oncologic disease or following hematopoietic stem cell transplant supported on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: The PEDECOR experience.

Background: Outcomes for patients with oncologic disease and/or after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) requiring intensive care unit admission have improved, but indications for and outcomes after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in this population are poorly characterized.

Procedure: We analyzed data from consecutive patients < 18 years with oncologic disease and/or after HSCT reported to a pediatric ECMO registry by nine pediatric centers in the United States between 2011 and 2018.

Results: We identified 18 ECMO patients with oncologic disease and/or HSCT, and 415 ECMO controls matched with a propensity score algorithm based on age, gender, race, severity of illness at admission, and reason for ECMO.

Standardized Implementation of Evidence-based Guidelines to Decrease Blood Transfusions in Pediatric Intensive Care Units.

Introduction: Despite evidence that red blood cell (RBC) transfusions may be associated with more harm than benefit, current transfusion practices vary significantly. This multicenter, quality improvement study aimed to sustainably decrease the rate of RBC transfusions in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).

Methods: This 16-month prospective study included 5 PICUs.