Ictal-Interictal Continuum in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: The ictal-interictal continuum (IIC) consists of several electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns that are common in critically ill adults. Studies focused on the IIC are limited in critically ill children and have focused primarily on associations with electrographic seizures (ESs). We report the incidence of the IIC in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We then compare IIC patterns to rhythmic and periodic patterns (RPP) not meeting IIC criteria looking for associations with acute cerebral abnormalities, ES, and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data for patients admitted to the PICU at Children's National Hospital from July 2021 to January 2023 with continuous EEG. We excluded patients with known epilepsy and cerebral injury prior to presentation. All patients were screened for RPP. The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society standardized Critical Care EEG terminology for the IIC was applied to each RPP. Associations between IIC and RPP not meeting IIC criteria, with clinical and EEG variables, were calculated using odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: Of 201 patients, 21% (42/201) had RPP and 12% (24/201) met IIC criteria. Among patients with an IIC pattern, the median age was 3.4 years (interquartile range (IQR) 0.6-12 years). Sixty-seven percent (16/24) of patients met a single IIC criterion, whereas the remainder met two criteria. ESs were identified in 83% (20/24) of patients and cerebral injury was identified in 96% (23/24) of patients with IIC patterns. When comparing patients with IIC patterns with those with RPP not qualifying as an IIC pattern, both patterns were associated with acute cerebral abnormalities (IIC OR 26 [95% confidence interval {CI} 3.4-197], p = 0.0016 vs. RPP OR 3.5 [95% CI 1.1-11], p = 0.03), however, only the IIC was associated with ES (OR 121 [95% CI 33-451], p < 0.0001) versus RPP (OR 1.3 [0.4-5], p = 0.7). CONCLUSIONS: Rhythmic and periodic patterns and subsequently the IIC are commonly seen in the PICU and carry a high association with cerebral injury. Additionally, the IIC, seen in more than 10% of critically ill children, is associated with ES. The independent impact of RPP and IIC patterns on secondary brain injury and need for treatment of these patterns independent of ES requires further study.

Dietary polyherbal supplementation decreases CD3+ cell infiltration into pancreatic islets and prevents hyperglycemia in nonobese diabetic mice.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus results from autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic islet ß-cells, a process associated with inflammatory signals. We hypothesized that dietary supplementation with botanicals known to contain anti-inflammatory properties would prevent losses in functional ß-cell mass in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, a rodent model of autoimmune-mediated islet inflammation that spontaneously develops diabetes. Female NOD mice, a model of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes, were fed a diet supplemented with herbal extracts (1.916 g total botanical extracts per 1 kg of diet) over a 12-week period. The mice consumed isocaloric matched diets without (controls) and with polyherbal supplementation (PHS) ad libitum starting at a prediabetic stage (age 6 weeks) for 12 weeks. Control mice developed hyperglycemia (>180 mg/dL) within 16 weeks (n = 9). By contrast, mice receiving the PHS diet did not develop hyperglycemia by 18 weeks (n = 8). Insulin-positive cell mass within pancreatic islets was 31.9% greater in PHS mice relative to controls. We also detected a 26% decrease in CD3(+) lymphocytic infiltration in PHS mice relative to mice consuming a control diet. In vitro assays revealed reduced ß-cell expression of the chemokines CCL2 and CXCL10 after overnight PHS addition to the culture media. We conclude that dietary PHS delays initiation of autoimmune-mediated ß-cell destruction and subsequent onset of diabetes mellitus by diminishing islet inflammatory responses.

Effect of rotational therapy on aspiration risk of enteral feeds.

BACKGROUND: Enteral nutrition has been demonstrated to reduce ventilator days and the incidence of pneumonia, but the safest route for providing enteral nutrition to mechanically ventilated patients is unclear. Our objective was to determine if there is a difference between the incidences of microaspiration of gastric secretions in patients fed via a nasogastric tube vs a postpyloric tube while undergoing rotational therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained for this prospective, randomized study. Patients were randomized to gastric or postpyloric enteral feedings. Daily tracheal secretion samples were collected, and we used an immunoassay to detect pepsin. Using the data for aspiration and tube type, a univariate unadjusted odds ratio was calculated to assess the risk of aspiration between the 2 tube types. An independent samples t test was used to analyze the hypothesis that microaspiration significantly affects lung recovery from ARDS. RESULTS: Of the 20 study patients, 9 (45%) received nasogastric feeds and 11 (55%) received postpyloric feeds. Western blot analysis for the presence of pepsin in each tracheal aspirate revealed microaspiration in 2 nasogastric (22%) and 2 (18%) postpyloric patients. The nasogastric tube provided a protective effect for aspirating with an odds ratio of .778 (95% confidence interval, .09-6.98). An independent samples t test was used and showed no significant change in PaO(2):FiO(2) ratio in the aspirating vs nonaspirating group (P = .552). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that enteral nutrition should not be delayed or stopped to position the tube in patients with ARDS on rotational therapy.