• Shyam J Deshpande, TsangHamilton CHC0000-0001-5723-7023Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA., Jim Phuong, Rida Hasan, Zhinan Liu, Lynn G Stansbury, John R Hess, and Monica S Vavilala.
• Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• Paediatr Anaesth. 2024 Oct 22.

BackgroundTrauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) is associated with negative outcomes. Pediatric TIC has been described most often in older children. Children undergo normal developmental hemostasis, but it is unknown how this process impacts the risk of TIC across childhood.AimsTo understand variations in coagulation testing and TIC across pediatric age groups.MethodsWe evaluated testing patterns of coagulation studies at presentation and over the first 72 h of hospitalization by pediatric age group at a large, Level I trauma center, 2015-2020. The frequency of TIC was determined using published, age-specific reference ranges and controlling for injury severity. We performed subgroup analyses of those with isolated severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and those who presented directly from the scene of injury.ResultsData from 2409 pediatric patients were available; 333 patients had isolated severe TBI. Children <1 year were least likely to be tested for TIC at presentation and over the first 72 h, even among the most injured. Fibrinogen testing was uncommon, regardless of injury severity. TIC was common: 22% of patients had TIC at presentation and 35% by 72 h. Greater injury severity was associated with TIC. Children 1-4 and 5-9 years had a higher frequency of TIC at presentation and over 72 h compared to older children in the least injured cohort. We saw no difference in frequency of TIC between age groups in the subset with isolated severe TBI. Using age-specific criteria, patients most often met TIC criteria by INR/PT, followed by platelet count, and least commonly by aPTT. The presence of TIC was associated with in-hospital mortality (OR 4.10, 95% CI 2.06-8.17).ConclusionsSignificant sampling bias exists in clinical data collection among injured children and adolescents. Contrary to previous reports and using age-specific TIC criteria, younger children are not at lower risk of TIC than older children when controlling for injury severity.© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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