Multiple Organ Dysfunction and Critically Ill Children With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and critical care utilization in children and young adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have not undergone hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of MODS (defined as dysfunction of two or more organ systems) occurring any day within the first 72 hours of PICU admission. SETTING: Large, quaternary-care children's hospital. PATIENTS: Patients 1 month through 26 years old who were treated for AML from 2011-2019. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Eighty patients with AML were included. These 80 patients had a total of 409 total non-HCT-related hospital and 71 PICU admissions. The majority 53 of 71 of PICU admissions (75%) were associated with MODS within the first 72 hours. MODS was present in 49 of 71 of PICU admissions (69%) on day 1, 29 of 52 (56%) on day 2, and 25 of 32 (78%) on day 3. The organ systems most often involved were hematologic, respiratory, and cardiovascular. There was an increasing proportion of renal failure (8/71 [11%] on day 1 to 8/32 [25%] on day 3; p = 0.02) and respiratory failure (33/71 [47%] to 24/32 [75%]; p = 0.001) as PICU stay progressed. The presence of MODS on day 1 was associated with a longer PICU length of stay (LOS) (ß = 5.4 [95% CI, 0.7-10.2]; p = 0.024) and over a six-fold increased risk of an LOS over 2 days (odds ratio, 6.08 [95% CI, 1.59-23.23]; p = 0.008). Respiratory failure on admission was associated with higher risk of increased LOS. CONCLUSIONS: AML patients frequently require intensive care. In this cohort, MODS occurred in over half of PICU admissions and was associated with longer PICU LOS. Respiratory failure was associated with the development of MODS and progressive MODS, as well as prolonged LOS.

Diagnostic yield of bronchoscopy in children with leukemia or post hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

BACKGROUND: The utility of bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in immunocompromised children is not well understood. We aim to describe the bronchoscopy diagnostic yield and complications and to investigate factors associated with diagnostic yield. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study of 60 children with leukemia or post-hematopoietic stem cell transplant who had a bronchoscopy with BAL between 2017 and 2021. Comparisons were done with regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 60 bronchoscopies performed, 46 (77%) revealed diagnostic information: 39 (65%) identified a pathogen, 14 (23.3%) found secretions/mucus plugging, and 6 (10%) found pulmonary hemorrhage. BAL results changed antimicrobial therapy in 27 (45%) cases. Bronchoscopies were performed in the intensive care unit (27/60) or operating room (33/60), with the former having a higher diagnostic yield (96% vs. 60%, p = 0.001). Half (50%) of bronchoscopies found a new infectious diagnosis. Respiratory symptoms (n = 58, 97%), supplemental oxygen use (n = 39, 65%), and antibiotic use (n = 56, 93%) before bronchoscopy were all common. The median volume of fluid instilled during bronchoscopy was 1.3 mL/kg (interquatile range [IQR]: 0.7, 2.6). None of these factors were associated with the diagnostic yield. Complications were rare and minor with only one child having self-resolved bleeding and four children, previously in room air requiring a nasal cannula. For the 27 (45%) children on mechanical ventilation when the bronchoscopy was performed, there was no difference in ventilator settings pre- and post-bronchoscopy. CONCLUSION: Bronchoscopies with BAL are useful, safe, and important in the diagnostic management of pulmonary complications in this cohort of children.