• Praveen Khilnani, Devajit Sarma, Reeta Singh, Rajiv Uttam, Shiv Rajdev, Archana Makkar, and Jyotinder Kaur.
• Apollo Center for Advanced Pediatrics, I P Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India. pkhilnani@vsnl.com
• Indian J Pediatr. 2004 Jul 1;71(7):587-91.

ObjectiveTo study the profile and outcome of children admitted to a tertiary level pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in India.MethodsProspective study of patient demographics, PRISM III scores, diagnoses, treatment, morbidity and mortality of all PICU admissions.Results948 children were admitted to the PICU. Mean age was 41.48 months. Male to female ratio was 2.95:1. Mean PRISM III score on admission was 18.50. Diagnoses included respiratory (19.7%), cardiac (9.7%), neurological (17.9%), infectious (12.5%), trauma (11.7%), other surgical (8.8%).196 children (20.68%) required mechanical ventilation. Average duration of ventilation was 6.39 days. 27 children (30.7 children /1000 admissions) had acute respiratory distress syndrome. Gross mortality was 6.7% (59 patients). PRISMIII adjusted mortality was directly proportional to PRISMIII scores. 49.5% of nonsurvivors had multiorgan failure. Average length of PICU stay was 4.52 +/- 2.6 days. Complications commonly encountered were atelectasis (6.37%), accidental extubation (2%), and pneumothorax (0.9%). Incidence of nosocomial infections was 16.86%.ConclusionOur data appears to be similar with regards to PRISMIII scores and adjusted mortality, length of the PICU stay, and duration of ventilation, to previously published western data. Multiorgan failure remains a major cause of death. As expected, Dengue and malaria were common. Incidence of nosocomial infections was somewhat high. Interestingly, more boys got admitted to the PICU as compared to girls. Clearly more studies are required to assess the overall outcomes of critically ill children in India.

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