Neutrophil CD64 index in cerebrospinal fluid as a marker of bacterial ventriculitis in children with external ventricular drainage.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial ventriculitis is a common complication in children with temporary external ventricular drains (EVD) and the diagnosis is challenging. The present study compared the diagnostic accuracy of novel cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) marker - CD64 expression on neutrophils measured as neutrophil CD64 index (CD64in) to routine laboratory CSF and blood markers for bacterial ventriculitis in children with EVD. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study, enrolling children with EVD. CD64in in CSF together with CSF markers (leukocyte count, percentage of neutrophils, glucose, and proteins) and blood markers (leukocyte and differential count, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT)) were studied at the time of suspected bacterial ventriculitis. CD64in was measured by flow cytometry. Diagnostic accuracy determined by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC) was defined for each marker. RESULTS: Thirty-three episodes of clinically suspected ventriculitis in twenty-one children were observed during a 26-month period. Episodes were classified into those with microbiologically proven ventriculitis (13 episodes) and into those with microbiologically negative CSF (20 episodes). CD64in and leukocyte count were the only CSF markers that could differentiate between groups with diagnostic accuracy of 0.875 and 0.694, respectively. Among blood markers only CRP and band neutrophils differentiated between groups with diagnostic accuracy of 0.792 and 0.721, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CD64in in CSF is a promising diagnostic marker of bacterial ventriculitis in children with EVD as it has higher diagnostic accuracy than routine blood and CSF markers for diagnosing bacterial ventriculitis at the time of clinical suspicion.

Sevoflurane sedation for weaning from mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Light sedation is the prerequisite for weaning from mechanical ventilation. Our aim was to evaluate the technical feasibility and efficacy of sevoflurane delivered by anesthetic conserving device (ACD) for sedation of children during weaning from mechanical ventilation. METHODS: Prospective observational feasibility study in pediatric ICU. Patients who were identified as ready for weaning from mechanical ventilation and had Withdrawal Assessment Tool version 1 (WAT-1) score of ≥8 were switched from intravenous sedatives to sevoflurane sedation by AnaConDa® ACD (Sedana Medical, Danderyd, Sweden) placed at the inspiratory limb of the ventilator (INSP group) or at Y-piece (Y group). Primary endpoints were proportion of time within a predefined interval on a sedation scale (COMFORT score 17-26) and the time required from discontinuation of sevoflurane until extubation. Secondary endpoints were the short-term (-6 hours to +6 hours) effects on systemic hemodynamics. RESULTS: We enrolled 40 patients. Proportion of time with COMFORT score 17-26 was 89%, mean time to extubation was 10.2±3.9 min. The sevoflurane flow rate was 7±3 mL/h in INSP group, and 3.5±1.3 mL/h in Y group to obtain median end-tidal sevoflurane concentration (ETsevo) of 0.88 (range: 0.21-1.2) and 1.3 (range: 0.43-1.47) vol%, respectively. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased significantly from 67.2±15 mmHg at -1 hour to 61±13.8 mmHg at +1 hour, and 62.8±14.8 mmHg at +6 hours, necessitating fluid therapy and/or vasopressor increase in eight (20%) patients. Transient psychomotor dysfunction developed in five (12.5%) patients after discontinuation of sevoflurane. CONCLUSIONS: Sevoflurane administration by ACD is technically feasible in critically ill children. It provides sedation within the desired sedation interval 89% of time, with short time to extubation after termination of administration. Decrease in mean arterial pressure warrants good hemodynamic monitoring and optimization of preload. Longer sevoflurane sedation and higher ETsevo is associated with development of reversible psychomotor dysfunction.

Fate of Central Venous Catheters Used for Acute Extracorporeal Treatment in Critically Ill Pediatric Patients: A Single Center Experience.

Renal replacement treatment (RRT) is required in severe acute kidney injury, and a functioning central venous catheter (CVC) is crucial. Twenty-eight children younger than 16 years have been treated at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana between 2003 and 2012 with either acute hemodialysis (HD) and/or plasma exchange (PE), and were included in our study. The age of the patients ranged from 2 days to 14.1 years. Sixty-six CVCs were inserted (52% de novo, 48% guide wire). The sites of insertion were the jugular vein in 20% and the femoral vein in 80%. Catheters were in function from 1 day to 27 days. The most common cause for CVC removal or exchange was catheter dysfunction (50%). CVCs were mostly inserted in the femoral vein, which is the preferred site of insertion in acute HD/PE because of the smaller number of complications.

Diagnostic accuracy of presepsin (sCD14-ST) for prediction of bacterial infection in cerebrospinal fluid samples from children with suspected bacterial meningitis or ventriculitis.

Children with temporary external ventricular drains (EVD) are prone to nosocomial infections. Diagnosis of bacterial meningitis and ventriculitis in these children is challenging due to frequent blood contamination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the presence of chemical ventriculitis. The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic accuracy of presepsin (sCD14-ST), a novel biomarker of bacterial infection in CSF, to predict bacterial infection in comparison to the accuracy of established biomarkers like those demonstrated in biochemical analysis of CSF. We conducted a prospective study with 18 children with suspected bacterial meningitis or ventriculitis who had 66 episodes of disease. CSF samples were taken from external ventricular drainage. We measured presepsin in CSF, as well as CSF leukocyte count, glucose, and proteins. CSF was also taken to prove bacterial infection with culture methods or with 16S rRNA gene broad-range PCR (SepsiTest; Molzym, Germany). Infection was clinically confirmed in 57 (86%) episodes of suspected meningitis or ventriculitis. Chemical ventriculitis was diagnosed in 9 (14%) episodes of suspected meningitis or ventriculitis. Diagnostic accuracies presented as area under the curve (AUC) for sCD14-ST, leukocytes, and proteins measured in CSF were 0.877 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.793 to 0.961), 0.798 (95% CI, 0.677 to 0.920), and 0.857 (95% CI, 0.749 to 0.964), respectively. With CSF culture, we detected bacteria in 17 samples, compared to 37 detected with broad-range PCR. It was found that presepsin was present at a significantly higher level in children with clinically proven ventriculitis than in those without meningitis or ventriculitis. Diagnostic accuracies of presepsin were superior to those of leukocytes or proteins in CSF. Presepsin-guided 16S rRNA gene PCR could be used in everyday clinical practice to improve etiological diagnosis of meningitis and ventriculitis and to prescribe more appropriate antibiotics.

Neutrophil and monocyte CD64 indexes, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in sepsis of critically ill neonates and children.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of neutrophil and monocyte CD64 indexes (CD64in and CD64im) for sepsis in critically ill neonates and children with that of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP). DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, observational study in a level III multidisciplinary neonatal and pediatric intensive care unit (ICU). PATIENTS: Forty-six neonates and 36 children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and suspected infection, classified into two groups: those with bacterial sepsis (microbiologically proven or clinical sepsis) and those without bacterial sepsis (infection not supported by subsequent clinical course, laboratory data and microbiological tests). INTERVENTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS: Flow cytometric CD64in and CD64im, serum LBP, PCT and CRP measurement on 2 consecutive days from admission to the ICU. RESULTS: There were 17 cases of bacterial sepsis in neonates and 24 cases of bacterial sepsis in children. All neonates and the majority of children were mechanically ventilated, and more than two-thirds of neonates with sepsis and one-third of children with sepsis needed inotropic/vasopressor drugs. The highest diagnostic accuracy for sepsis on the 1st day of suspected sepsis was achieved by LBP in neonates (0.86) and by CD64in in children (0.88) and 24 h later by CD64in in neonates (0.96) and children (0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Neutrophil CD64 index (CD64in) is the best individual marker for bacterial sepsis in children, while in neonates the highest diagnostic accuracy at the time of suspected sepsis was achieved by LBP and 24 h later by CD64in.

Neutrophil and monocyte CD64 and CD163 expression in critically ill neonates and children with sepsis: comparison of fluorescence intensities and calculated indexes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression of CD64 and CD163 on neutrophils and monocytes in SIRS with/without sepsis and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CD64 and CD163 molecules expression determined as (1) mean fluorescence intensities (MFI) of CD64 and CD163; and (2) the ratio (index) of linearized MFI to the fluorescence signal of standardized beads. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-six critically ill neonates and children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and suspected sepsis, classified into two groups: SIRS with sepsis (n = 29) and SIRS without sepsis (n = 27). RESULTS: CD64 and CD163 MFI measured on neutrophils and monocytes were elevated in patients with SIRS with sepsis. Diagnostic accuracy of indexes was equal to diagnostic accuracy of MFI for CD64 on neutrophils (0.833 versus 0.854 for day 0 and 0.975 versus 0.983 for day 1) and monocytes (0.811 versus 0.865 for day 0 and 0.825 versus 0.858 for day 1), and CD163 on neutrophils (0.595 versus 0.655 for day 0 and 0.677 versus 0.750 for day 1), but not for CD163 on monocytes. CONCLUSION: CD64 MFI, CD163 MFI, CD64 indexes for neutrophils and monocytes, and CD163 index for neutrophils can all be used for discrimination of SIRS and sepsis in critically ill neonates and children. CD64 index for neutrophils, however, is superior to all other markers.

Clinical and laboratory methods in diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children.

AIM: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination, white blood cell and differential count, and C-reactive protein as routine tests for acute appendicitis with that of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and ultrasonography. METHODS: Eighty-two children were admitted to the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, Ljubljana, Slovenia because of suspected acute appendicitis. Among them, 49 children underwent surgery for acute appendicitis and 33 had abdominal pain but were not treated surgically and were diagnosed with non-specific abdominal pain or mesenteric lymphadenitis on sonography. Clinical signs of acute appendicitis were determined by surgeons on admission. White blood cell count and differential and serum concentrations of C-reactive protein and IL-6 were measured and abdominal ultrasonography was performed. RESULTS: Ultrasonography showed the highest diagnostic accuracy (92.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 84.5%-98.0%, Bayes' theorem), followed by serum IL-6 concentration (77.6%; 67.1-86.1%, receiver-operating characteristic [ROC] curve analysis), clinical signs (69.5%; 59.5-79.0%, Bayes' theorem), white blood cell count (68.4%; 57.2-78.3%, ROC curve analysis), and serum C-reactive protein concentration (63.7%; 52.174.3%, ROC curve analysis). Ultrasonography achieved also the highest specificity (95.2%) and positive (93.8%) and negative (93.3%) predictive values, whereas clinical signs showed the highest sensitivity (93.9%). CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography was a more accurate diagnostic method than IL-6 serum concentration, laboratory marker with the highest diagnostic accuracy in our study, and hence it should be a part of the diagnostic procedure for acute appendicitis in children.