Publications by authors named "Yolanda Lopez Fernandez"

Background: The number of children requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) has increased with the advancement of medical care. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of PMV worldwide, document demographic and clinical characteristics of children requiring PMV in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs), and to understand variation in clinical practice and health-care burden.

Methods: This international, multicentre, cross-sectional cohort study screened participating PICUs in 28 countries for children aged >37 postgestational weeks to 17 years who had been receiving mechanical ventilation (MV; invasive or non-invasive) for at least 14 consecutive days.

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Objective: To address the current practice of liberating patients from invasive mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care units, with a focus on the use of standardized protocols, criteria, parameters, and indications for noninvasive respiratory support postextubation.

Methods: Electronic research was carried out from November 2021 to May 2022 in Ibero-American pediatric intensive care units. Physicians and respiratory therapists participated, with a single representative for each pediatric intensive care unit included.

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Background: The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of sedation administration on clinical parameters, comfort status, intubation requirements, and the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS) in children with acute respiratory failure (ARF) receiving noninvasive ventilation (NIV).

Methods: Thirteen PICUs in Spain participated in a prospective, multicenter, observational trial from January to December 2021. Children with ARF under the age of five who were receiving NIV were included.

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Background: The 2023 International Pediatric Ventilator Liberation Clinical Practice Guidelines provided evidence-based recommendations to guide pediatric critical care providers on how to perform daily aspects of ventilator liberation. However, because of the lack of high-quality pediatric studies, most recommendations were conditional based on very low to low certainty of evidence.

Research Question: What are the research gaps related to pediatric ventilator liberation that can be studied to strengthen the evidence for future updates of the guidelines?

Study Design And Methods: We conducted systematic reviews of the literature in eight predefined Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome (PICO) areas related to pediatric ventilator liberation to generate recommendations.

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Objectives: This article describes the methodology used for The Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC-2). The PALLIC-2 sought to develop evidence-based clinical recommendations and when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements and research priorities for the diagnosis and management of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS).

Data Sources: Electronic searches were conducted using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from 2012 to March 2022.

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Objectives: We sought to update our 2015 work in the Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC-2) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS), considering new evidence and topic areas that were not previously addressed.

Design: International consensus conference series involving 52 multidisciplinary international content experts in PARDS and four methodology experts from 15 countries, using consensus conference methodology, and implementation science.

Setting: Not applicable.

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Pediatric-specific ventilator liberation guidelines are lacking despite the many studies exploring elements of extubation readiness testing. The lack of clinical practice guidelines has led to significant and unnecessary variation in methods used to assess pediatric patients' readiness for extubation. Twenty-six international experts comprised a multiprofessional panel to establish pediatrics-specific ventilator liberation clinical practice guidelines, focusing on acutely hospitalized children receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours.

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Article Synopsis
  • - PARDS is a severe lung condition in children that differs from ARDS in adults due to factors like age, lung growth, and underlying health issues, resulting in higher mortality and long-term health problems.
  • - There is no specific treatment for PARDS; current management focuses on supportive care, highlighting the need for better strategies to identify who might benefit from targeted interventions like specific ventilation techniques or prone positioning.
  • - Improving our understanding of the diverse clinical features of PARDS compared to adult ARDS, and utilizing advanced data analysis techniques, could lead to more personalized and effective treatment approaches in the future.
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Article Synopsis
  • This study focuses on creating consistent definitions for important aspects of pediatric mechanical ventilation, which is essential for improving research and practices in this field.* ! -
  • A group of 26 experts conducted systematic reviews and reached consensus definitions through multiple voting rounds, establishing 16 key definitions related to ventilator liberation.* ! -
  • The final definitions achieved over 80% agreement among participants, addressing various areas including respiratory support types, ventilator duration, and criteria for successful liberation.* !
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Periextubation corticosteroids are commonly used in children to prevent upper airway obstruction (UAO). However, the best timing and dose combination of corticosteroids is unknown. To compare effectiveness of different corticosteroid regimens in preventing UAO and reintubation.

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Study Design: This is a prospective, multicenter, and observational study with the aim of describing physiological characteristics, respiratory management, and outcomes of children with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) from different etiologies receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) compared with those affected by SARS-CoV-2.

Methods And Main Results: Twenty-eight patients met the inclusion criteria: 9 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 19 patients without COVID-19. Non-COVID-19 patients had more pre-existing comorbidities (78.

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Objectives: To describe mechanical ventilation management and factors associated with nonadherence to lung-protective ventilation principles in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Design: A planned ancillary study to a prospective international observational study. Mechanical ventilation management (every 6 hr measurements) during pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome days 0-3 was described and compared with Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference tidal volume recommendations (< 7 mL/kg in children with impaired respiratory system compliance, < 9 mL/kg in all other children) and the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network lower positive end-expiratory pressure/higher Fio2 grid recommendations.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze characteristics and early risk factors for mortality in critically ill children using noninvasive ventilation (NIV).
  • Conducted over two years, the research involved 781 patients aged 1 month to 18 years, collecting clinical data and identifying risk factors for mortality using statistical analysis.
  • Key findings showed that certain conditions like immunodeficiency and cerebral palsy, along with breathing issues on admission, increased mortality risk, highlighting a need for cautious NIV management in young patients.
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Hemorrhagic shock is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in pediatric trauma. Current treatment based on volume resuscitation is associated to adverse effects, and it has been proposed that vasopressors may be used in the pharmacological management of trauma. Terlipressin has demonstrated its usefulness in other pediatric critical care scenarios and its long half-life allows its use as a bolus in an outpatient critical settings.

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Purpose: Definitions of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) include radiographic criteria, but there are concerns about reliability and prognostic relevance. This study aimed to evaluate the independent relationship between chest imaging and mortality and examine the inter-rater variability of interpretations of chest radiographs (CXR) in pediatric ARDS (PARDS).

Methods: Prospective, international observational study in children meeting Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC) criteria for PARDS, which requires new infiltrate(s) consistent with pulmonary parenchymal disease, without mandating bilateral infiltrates.

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Objectives: Pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome is heterogeneous, with a paucity of risk stratification tools to assist with trial design. We aimed to develop and validate mortality prediction models for patients with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Design: Leveraging additional data collection from a preplanned ancillary study (Version 1) of the multinational Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome Incidence and Epidemiology study, we identified predictors of mortality.

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Few data exist to guide early adjunctive therapy use in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS). To describe contemporary use of adjunctive therapies for early PARDS as a framework for future investigations. This was a preplanned substudy of a prospective, international, cross-sectional observational study of children with PARDS from 100 centers over 10 study weeks.

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Background: Paediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) is associated with high mortality in children, but until recently no paediatric-specific diagnostic criteria existed. The Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC) definition was developed to overcome limitations of the Berlin definition, which was designed and validated for adults. We aimed to determine the incidence and outcomes of children who meet the PALICC definition of PARDS.

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Introduction: Few validated surveys measuring parental satisfaction in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) are available, and none of them in Spanish language. The aim of this study is to translate and validate the questionnaire EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care (EMPATHIC). This questionnaire measures parental perceptions of paediatric intensive care-related satisfaction items in the Spanish language.

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Objective: To provide additional details and evidence behind the recommendations for outcomes assessment of patients with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome from the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference.

Design: Consensus conference of experts in pediatric acute lung injury.

Methods: A panel of 27 experts met over the course of 2 years to develop a taxonomy to define pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome and to make recommendations regarding treatment and research priorities.

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Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine whether the maintenance of cardiac index (CI) measured by femoral arterial thermodilution during the postoperative period after heart surgery in children is related to short-term outcome.

Materials And Methods: A prospective observational study in a pediatric intensive care unit at a referral hospital for congenital heart disease was conducted. Thirty-five children after open heart surgery were monitored in 5 planned times with PiCCO (Pulsion Medical System AG, Munich, Germany) during the first 24 hours after admission.

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Objectives: The incidence and outcome of the acute respiratory distress syndrome in children are not well-known, especially under current ventilatory practices. The goal of this study was to determine the incidence, etiology, and outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome in the pediatric population in the setting of lung protective ventilation.

Design: A 1-yr, prospective, multicenter, observational study in 12 geographical areas of Spain (serving a population of 3.

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