Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Sep 2011
Transfusion of leukocyte-depleted red blood cells is not a risk factor for nosocomial infections in critically ill children.
Transfusion of red blood cells is increasingly linked with adverse outcomes in critically ill children. We tested the hypothesis that leukocyte-depleted red blood cell transfusions were independently associated with increased development of bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonias, or urinary tract infections. ⋯ Transfusion of leukocyte-depleted red blood cells was not independently associated with the development of nosocomial infections in a heterogeneous group of critically ill children.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Sep 2011
Food and Drug Administration approval for medications used in the pediatric intensive care unit: a continuing conundrum.
Many drugs used in the pediatric intensive care unit are administered "off label," i.e., they have been neither thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety nor approved for use in children. The U.S. Congress has enacted legislation to promote standards and requirements for Food and Drug Administration labeling for drugs used in pediatrics. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that most medications used in our pediatric intensive care unit were not Food and Drug Administration approved for use in pediatric patients. ⋯ Despite the efforts of Congress, 67% of medications prescribed and administered in the pediatric intensive care unit did not have Food and Drug Administration approval or had only limited approval, underscoring the need for the medical community to demand oversight and research to improve drug labeling for our patient population.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Sep 2011
Enteral potassium supplementation in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit: evaluation of a practice change.
Potassium supplementation is a common practice in critically ill children, especially those with heart disease. Intravenous potassium supplementation is the standard route of administration in most intensive care units. Although the enteral route is safer and thus may be a reasonable alternative, data on the efficacy of enteral potassium administration are lacking. ⋯ The efficacy of enteral potassium is comparable to intravenous potassium for potassium replacement in pediatric patients after congenital heart surgery.