Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2014
Observational StudyIncreasing Mean Arterial Blood Pressure and Heart Rate With Catecholaminergic Drugs Does Not Improve the Microcirculation in Children With Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: A Prospective Cohort Study.
To study whether dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine improve not only mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate but also microcirculatory perfusion in children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. ⋯ Catecholaminergic drug support with dopamine, norepinephrine, and/or epinephrine improved macrocirculatory function but did not improve the microcirculation in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The microcirculation was not only impaired but it also predicted poor outcome.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2014
Improved Oxygenation 24 Hours After Transition to Airway Pressure Release Ventilation or High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation Accurately Discriminates Survival in Immunocompromised Pediatric Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Children with an immunocompromised condition and requiring invasive mechanical ventilation have high risk of death. Such patients are commonly transitioned to rescue modes of nonconventional ventilation, including airway pressure release ventilation and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, for acute respiratory distress syndrome refractory to conventional ventilation. Our aim was to describe our experience with airway pressure release ventilation and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in children with an immunocompromised condition and acute respiratory distress syndrome refractory to conventional ventilation and to identify factors associated with survival. ⋯ In this single-center retrospective study of pediatric patients with an immunocompromised condition and acute respiratory distress syndrome failing conventional ventilation transitioned to either airway pressure release ventilation or high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, improved oxygenation at 24 hours expressed as PaO(2)/FIO(224)/PaO(2)/FIO(2pre) or oxygenation index(24)/oxygenation indexpre reliably discriminates nonsurvivors from survivors. These findings should be prospectively verified.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2014
Transthoracic Echocardiography in Pediatric Intensive Care: Impact on Medical and Surgical Management.
Although transthoracic echocardiography is commonly performed in the PICU, its utility is not specifically known. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the clinical impact of echocardiography in the PICU in terms of frequency of unanticipated findings and the frequency and nature of clinical management changes attributed to the results of echocardiography. ⋯ Unanticipated echocardiography results are common in the PICU, and they often alter the clinical impressions that prompted the echocardiogram or introduce new findings unrelated to the reason for which the echocardiogram was recorded. Clinical management changes attributable to echocardiography findings are frequent in the PICU, including occasional surgical intervention. Echocardiography adds diagnostic value and contributes to the management approach in the PICU, accounting for its frequent use.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2014
Comparative StudyEarly Goal-Directed Therapy in Pediatric Septic Shock: Comparison of Outcomes "With" and "Without" Intermittent Superior Venacaval Oxygen Saturation Monitoring: A Prospective Cohort Study.
To evaluate the effect of intermittent central venous oxygen saturation monitoring (ScvO(2)) on critical outcomes in children with septic shock, as continuous monitoring may not be feasible in most resource-restricted settings. ⋯ Early goal-directed therapy using intermittent ScvO(2) monitoring seemed to reduce the mortality rates and improved organ dysfunction in children with septic shock as compared with those without such monitoring.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2014
Observational StudyThe Lack of Specificity of Tracheal Aspirates in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Infection in Intubated Children.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the first or second most commonly diagnosed nosocomial infection in the PICU. Centers for Disease Control diagnostic criteria include clinical signs or symptoms in conjunction with a "positive" tracheal aspirate, defined as more than 10 colony-forming units/mL of bacteria on quantitative culture and/or more than 25 polymorphonuclear neutrophils per low-power field on Gram stain. We hypothesized that tracheal aspirate cultures and Gram stains would not correlate with clinical signs and symptoms and would therefore not distinguish between colonization and infection. ⋯ Positive bacterial cultures of tracheal aspirates increase rapidly after intubation and usually include bacteria considered to be pathogens. Tracheal aspirate cultures and Gram stains do not appear to distinguish between infection and colonization. Antibiotic regimens that include cefepime decrease the frequency of positive cultures, but the significance of this is unclear.