• Etienne Javouhey, Anne-Céline Guérin, Jean-Louis Martin, Daniel Floret, Mireille Chiron, and SERAC group.
• Service de réanimation et d'urgences pédiatriques, Hôpital Femme-Mère-Enfant, Groupement Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France. etienne.javouhey@chu-lyon.fr
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2009 Jul 1;10(4):472-8.

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of acute care management on outcome in children severely injured in road accidents.Design And SettingProspective follow-up study conducted in 12 French pediatric intensive care units over a 24-month period.PatientsExcluding those in refractory shock or in brain death at admission, a total of 125 children aged <17 years admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with severe trauma (Injury Severity Score > or =16) were included.ResultsIntracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and admission into a trauma resuscitation room (TRR) were used as proxy markers for the center management aggressiveness. Centers which admitted to TRR and monitored ICP when indicated in >75% of cases were called aggressive centers. Children with an ICP monitoring indication admitted to a TRR and monitored, as well as those without an indication treated in a TRR, were judged appropriately managed. A poor outcome at pediatric intensive care unit discharge was defined as a difference between the baseline and discharge pediatric overall performance category above 3, or a hospital death. Children with traumatic brain injury appropriately managed in a less-aggressive center were more likely to have a poor outcome than those appropriately managed in an aggressive center (odds ratio 7.56, 95% confidence interval 1.5-38.4), after adjustment for severity, age, and type of road user.ConclusionsThe management in a more aggressive center for children admitted to TRR and monitored for ICP, when indicated, is associated with a better outcome. This could be explained by a more extensive experience in trauma management.

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