• Kusum Menon, Lauren R Sorce, Andrew Argent, Tellen D Bennett, Enitan D Carrol, Niranjan Kissoon, L Nelson Sanchez-Pinto, Luregn J Schlapbach, Daniela C de Souza, R Scott Watson, James L Wynn, Jerry J Zimmerman, Suchitra Ranjit, and Pediatric Sepsis Definition Taskforce.
• Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2023 Apr 1; 24 (4): 301310301-310.

ObjectiveStandardized, consistent reporting of social determinants of health (SDOH) in studies on children with sepsis would allow for: 1) understanding the association of SDOH with illness severity and outcomes, 2) comparing populations and extrapolating study results, and 3) identification of potentially modifiable socioeconomic factors for policy makers. We, therefore, sought to determine how frequently data on SDOH were reported, which factors were collected and how these factors were defined in studies of sepsis in children.Data Sources And SelectionWe reviewed 106 articles (published between 2005 and 2020) utilized in a recent systematic review on physiologic criteria for pediatric sepsis.Data ExtractionData were extracted by two reviewers on variables that fell within the World Health Organization's SDOH categories.Data SynthesisSDOH were not the primary outcome in any of the included studies. Seventeen percent of articles (18/106) did not report on any SDOH, and a further 36.8% (39/106) only reported on gender/sex. Of the remaining 46.2% of articles, the most reported SDOH categories were preadmission nutritional status (35.8%, 38/106) and race/ethnicity (18.9%, 20/106). However, no two studies used the same definition of the variables reported within each of these categories. Six studies reported on socioeconomic status (3.8%, 6/106), including two from upper-middle-income and four from lower middle-income countries. Only three studies reported on parental education levels (2.8%, 3/106). No study reported on parental job security or structural conflict.ConclusionsWe found overall low reporting of SDOH and marked variability in categorizations and definitions of SDOH variables. Consistent and standardized reporting of SDOH in pediatric sepsis studies is needed to understand the role these factors play in the development and severity of sepsis, to compare and extrapolate study results between settings and to implement policies aimed at improving socioeconomic conditions related to sepsis.Copyright © 2023 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.

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