Clinical Manifestations and Outcomes of Critically Ill Children and Adolescents with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in New York City.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical manifestations and outcomes of critically ill children with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) in New York City. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective observational study of children 1 month to 21 years admitted March 14 to May 2, 2020, to 9 New York City pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. RESULTS: Of 70 children admitted to PICUs, median age was 15 (IQR 9, 19) years; 61.4% male; 38.6% Hispanic; 32.9% black; and 74.3% with comorbidities. Fever (72.9%) and cough (71.4%) were the common presenting symptoms. Twelve patients (17%) met severe sepsis criteria; 14 (20%) required vasopressor support; 21 (30%) developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); 9 (12.9%) met acute kidney injury criteria; 1 (1.4%) required renal-replacement therapy, and 2 (2.8%) had cardiac arrest. For treatment, 27 (38.6%) patients received hydroxychloroquine; 13 (18.6%) remdesivir; 23 (32.9%) corticosteroids; 3 (4.3%) tocilizumab; and 1 (1.4%) anakinra; no patient was given immunoglobulin or convalescent plasma. Forty-nine (70%) patients required respiratory support: 14 (20.0%) noninvasive mechanical ventilation, 20 (28.6%) invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), 7 (10%) prone position, 2 (2.8%) inhaled nitric oxide, and 1 (1.4%) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Nine (45%) of the 20 patients requiring IMV were extubated by day 14 with median IMV duration of 218 (IQR 79, 310.4) hours. Presence of ARDS was significantly associated with duration of PICU and hospital stay, and lower probability of PICU and hospital discharge at hospital day 14 (P < .05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Critically ill children with COVID-19 predominantly are adolescents, have comorbidities, and require some form of respiratory support. The presence of ARDS is significantly associated with prolonged PICU and hospital stay.

Serial Measurement of Amino-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Predicts Adverse Cardiovascular Outcome in Children With Primary Myocardial Dysfunction and Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVES: In children, elevated amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels are associated with impaired heart function. The predictive value of serial monitoring of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in acute decompensated heart failure is unclear. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Single, tertiary referral pediatric critical care unit. PATIENTS: Patients aged 0-21 years with primary myocardial dysfunction and acute decompensated heart failure. INTERVENTIONS: Amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels were obtained on enrollment, day 2, and day 7. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were collected on enrollment. Adverse cardiovascular outcome was defined as heart transplant, ventricular assist device placement, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or death at 1 year after admission. Aminoterminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels and the percent change from day 0 to day 2 and day 0 to day 7 were calculated and compared between those with and without adverse cardiovascular outcome. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixteen consecutive patients were enrolled. Adverse cardiovascular outcome occurred in six patients (37.5%, four heart transplant and two ventricular assist device). In patients with an adverse cardiovascular outcome, median amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels at day 7 were significantly higher (7,365 vs 1,196 pg/mL; p = 0.02) and the percent decline in amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide was significantly smaller (28% vs 73%; p = 0.02) compared with those without an adverse cardiovascular outcome. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed that a less than 55% decline in amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels at day 7 had a sensitivity and specificity of 83% and 90%, respectively, in predicting an adverse cardiovascular (area under the curve, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.68-1.0; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, children with primary myocardial dysfunction and acute decompensated heart failure, a persistently elevated amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, and/or a lesser degree of decline in amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide during the first week of presentation were strongly associated with adverse cardiovascular outcome. Serial amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide monitoring may allow the early identification of children at risk for worse outcome.

Arrhythmias in the paediatric intensive care unit: a prospective study of the rates and predictors of arrhythmias in children without underlying cardiac disease.

OBJECTIVE: Arrhythmias are common in patients admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit. We sought to identify the rates of occurrence and types of arrhythmias, and determine whether an arrhythmia was associated with illness severity and paediatric intensive care unit length of stay. DESIGN: This is a prospective, observational study of all patients admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore from March to June 2012. Patients with cardiac disease or admitted for the treatment of primary arrhythmias were excluded. Clinical and laboratory data were collected and telemetry was reviewed daily. Tachyarrhythmias were identified as supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and arrhythmias causing haemodynamic compromise or for which an intervention was performed. RESULTS: A total of 278 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. There were 97 incidences of arrhythmia in 53 patients (19%) and six tachyarrhythmias (2%). The most common types of arrhythmias were junctional rhythm (38%), premature atrial contractions (24%), and premature ventricular contractions (22%). Tachyarrhythmias included three supraventricular tachycardia (50%) and three ventricular tachycardia (50%). Of the six tachyarrhythmias, four were related to placement or migration of central venous lines and two occurred during aminophylline infusion. Patients with an arrhythmia had longer duration of mechanical ventilation and paediatric intensive care unit stay (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, central venous lines (odds ratio 3.1; 95% confidence interval 1.3-7.2, p=0.009) and aminophylline use (odds ratio 5.1; 95% confidence interval 1.7-14.9, p=0.003) were independent predictors for arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: Arrhythmias were common in paediatric intensive care unit patients (19%), although tachyarrhythmias occurred rarely (2%). Central venous lines and use of aminophylline were identified as two clinical factors that may be associated with development of an arrhythmia.

A Tale of 8 Cities: Pediatric Critical Care Redeployment to Adult Care During Wave 1 of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric hospital resources including critical care faculty (intensivists) redeployed to provide care to adults in adult ICUs or repurposed PICUs during wave 1 of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. OBJECTIVES: To determine the magnitude of pediatric hospital resource redeployment and the experience of pediatric intensivists who redeployed to provide critical care to adults with COVID-19. METHODS: A mixed methods study was conducted at 9 hospitals in 8 United States cities where pediatric resources were redeployed to provide care to critically ill adults with COVID-19. A survey of redeployed pediatric hospital resources and semistructured interviews of 40 redeployed pediatric intensivists were simultaneously conducted. Quantitative data were summarized as median (interquartile range) values. RESULTS: At study hospitals, there was expansion in adult ICU beds from a baseline median of 100 (86-107) to 205 (108-250). The median proportion (%) of redeployed faculty (88; 66-100), nurses (46; 10-100), respiratory therapists (48; 18-100), invasive ventilators (72; 0-100), and PICU beds (71; 0-100) was substantial. Though driven by a desire to help, faculty were challenged by unfamiliar ICU settings and culture, lack of knowledge of COVID-19 and fear of contracting it, limited supplies, exhaustion, and restricted family visitation. They recommended deliberate preparedness with interprofessional collaboration and cross-training, and establishment of a robust supply chain infrastructure for future public health emergencies and will redeploy again if asked. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric resource redeployment was substantial and pediatric intensivists faced formidable challenges yet would readily redeploy again.

Implementation of a Critical Care Asthma Pathway in the PICU.

OBJECTIVES: Acute asthma management has improved significantly across hospitals in the United States due to implementation of standardized care pathways. Management of severe acute asthma in ICUs is less well studied, and variations in management may delay escalation and/or deescalation of therapies and increase length of stay. In order to standardize the management of severe acute asthma in our PICU, a nurse- and respiratory therapist-driven critical care asthma pathway was designed, implemented, and tested. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of severe acute asthma at baseline followed by implementation of a critical care asthma pathway. SETTING: Twenty-six-bed urban quaternary PICU within a children's hospital. PATIENTS: Patients 24 months to 18 years old admitted to the PICU in status asthmaticus. Patients with severe bacterial infections, chronic lung disease, heart disease, or immune disorders were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: Implementation of a nurse- and respiratory therapist-driven respiratory scoring tool and critical care asthma pathway with explicit escalation/deescalation instructions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcome was PICU length of stay. Secondary outcomes were time to resolution of symptoms and hospital length of stay. Compliance approached 90% for respiratory score documentation and critical care asthma pathway adherence. Severity of illness at admission and clinical baseline characteristics were comparable in both groups. Pre intervention, the median ICU length of stay was 2 days (interquartile range, 1-3 d) with an overall hospital length of stay of 4 days (interquartile range, 3-6 d) (n = 74). After implementation of the critical care asthma pathway, the ICU length of stay was 1 day (interquartile range, 1-2 d) (p = 0.0013; n = 78) with an overall length of stay of 3 days (interquartile range, 2-3.75 d) (p < 0.001). The time to resolution of symptoms was reduced from a median of 66.5 hours in the preintervention group to 21 hours in the postintervention compliant group (p = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: The use of a structured critical care asthma pathway, driven by an ICU nurse and respiratory therapist, is associated with faster resolution of symptoms, decreased ICU, and overall hospital lengths of stay in children admitted to an ICU for severe acute asthma.

E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Acute Lung Injury and Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis.

In this report, we describe the case of a 17-year-old boy with progressive respiratory failure requiring extracorporeal support who met clinical criteria for a presumptive diagnosis of electronic cigarette or vaping-associated acute lung injury (EVALI), with clinical, pathologic, and laboratory evidence of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). The patient in our report had a history of tetrahydrocannabinol and nicotine electronic cigarette use for months leading up to his presentation of fever, headache, emesis, and weight loss with respiratory distress. Multiple potential diagnoses were explored, and the patient's respiratory status improved, and he was initially discharged from the hospital. Roughly one week later, the patient was readmitted for worsening respiratory distress. The patient then met sufficient criteria for a potential diagnosis of HLH and MAS (elevated ferritin level, inflammatory markers, and cytopenia) to warrant a bone marrow aspirate, which revealed rare hemophagocytic cells. Given the severity of his symptoms and laboratory evidence of HLH and MAS, the patient was started on a course of steroids and anakinra. Although laboratory markers improved after treatment, the patient's respiratory failure worsened, ultimately progressing to a need for mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal support and leading to worsening multiorgan system failure and, ultimately, death. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a presumptive diagnosis of EVALI with evidence of HLH and MAS, raising the possibility that macrophage activation may play a role in the pathogenesis of EVALI.

Discrepancies in Radiograph Interpretation Between Pediatric Radiologists and Pediatric Intensivists in the Pediatric or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: In pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), patient management decisions are sometimes based on preliminary interpretations of radiographs by pediatric intensivists (PIs) before a formal interpretation by a pediatric radiologist (PR). OBJECTIVE: To quantify and classify discrepancies in radiographic interpretation between PRs and PIs in the PICU and NICU. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This institutional review board-approved multi-institutional prospective study included three PRs and PIs at two PICUs and three NICUs. Interpretations of chest and abdominal radiographs by PIs and PRs were recorded on online forms and compared. Discrepancies in interpretations were classified as "miss," "misinterpretation," or "overcall." The discrepancies were also categorized as "actionable" or "nonactionable" based on extrapolation of the ACR actionable reporting work group's list of actionable findings. RESULTS: In 960 radiographic interpretations, the total, nonactionable, and actionable discrepancy rates between PRs and PIs were 34.7%, 26.8%, and 7.9%, respectively. The most common actionable discrepancies were line or tube positions and identification and interpretation of parenchymal opacities in the lungs. Identification of air leaks in the PICU and differentiation of normal from abnormal bowel gas patterns in the NICU followed in frequency. Air leaks accounted for 1% of total discrepancies and 11% of actionable discrepancies. Most discrepancies were nonactionable and included retrocardiac atelectasis and mischaracterization of neonatal lung disease in the PICU and NICU, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although the total discrepancy rate was high, most discrepancies were nonactionable. Actionable discrepancies were predominantly due to line and tube position, which should be an area of focused education.

Ordering Interruptions in a Tertiary Care Center: A Prospective Observational Study.

OBJECTIVES: By self-report, interruptions may contribute to up to 80% of ordering errors. A greater understanding of the frequency and context of interruptions during ordering is needed to identify targets for intervention. We sought to characterize the epidemiology of interruptions during order placement in the pediatric inpatient setting. METHODS: This prospective observational study conducted 1-hour-long structured observations on morning rounds and afternoons and evenings in the resident workroom. The primary outcome was the number of interruptions per 100 orders placed by residents and physician assistants. We assessed the role of ordering provider, number, type and urgency of interruptions and person initiating interruption. Descriptive statistics, χ2, and run charts were used. RESULTS: Sixty-nine structured observations were conducted with a total of 414 orders included. The interruption rate was 65 interruptions per 100 orders during rounds, 55 per 100 orders in the afternoons and 56 per 100 orders in the evenings. The majority of interruptions were in-person (n = 144, 61%). Interruptions from overhead announcements occurred most often in the mornings, and phone interruptions occurred most often in the evenings (P = .002). Nurses initiated interruptions most frequently. Attending physicians and fellows were more likely to interrupt during rounds, and coresidents were more likely to interrupt in the evenings (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: Residents and physician assistants are interrupted at a rate of 57 interruptions per 100 orders placed. This may contribute to ordering errors and worsen patient safety. Efforts should be made to decrease interruptions during the ordering process and track their effects on medication errors.

Plan to Have No Unplanned: A Collaborative, Hospital-Based Quality-Improvement Project to Reduce the Rate of Unplanned Extubations in the Pediatric ICU.

BACKGROUND: Although under-reported and understudied, unplanned extubations carry a significant risk of patient harm and even death. They are an important yardstick of quality control of care of intubated patients in the ICU. A unit-based risk assessment and multidisciplinary approach is required to decrease the incidence of unplanned extubations. METHODS: As part of a quality-improvement initiative of Children's Hospital at Montefiore, all planned and unplanned extubations in a multidisciplinary 20-bed pediatric ICU were evaluated over a 12-month period (January to December 2010). At the end of 6 months, an interim analysis was performed, and high-risk patient groups and patient care factors were identified. These factors were targeted in the second phase of the project. RESULTS: Over this period, there were a total of 267 extubations, of which 231 (87%) were planned extubations and 36 (13%) were unplanned. A patient care policy targeting the risk factors was instituted, along with extensive nursing and other personnel education in the second phase. As a result of this intervention, the unplanned extubation rate in the pediatric ICU decreased from 3.55 to 2.59/100 intubation days. All subjects who had an unplanned extubation during nursing procedures or transport required re-intubation, whereas none of the unplanned extubations during ventilator weaning required re-intubation. CONCLUSIONS: A targeted approach based on unit-specific risk factors is most effective in quality-improvement projects. A specific policy for sedation and weaning can be very helpful in managing intubated patients and preventing unintended harm.

Mortality rates in pediatric septic shock with and without multiple organ system failure.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the current mortality rates for pediatric patients with septic shock and the frequency and outcome of associated multiple organ system failure. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Multidisciplinary pediatric intensive care unit. PATIENTS: Children age 1 month to 21 yrs admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 1999, with a diagnosis of septic shock. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A database of all admissions to the pediatric intensive care unit was queried, and cases with diagnoses of sepsis and septic shock were reviewed. The final study cohort consisted of 96 episodes of septic shock in 80 patients. Septic shock was defined as a clinical suspicion of sepsis manifested by hyperthermia or hypothermia accompanied by hypotension and/or alteration in perfusion. Multiple organ system failure was defined by established criteria. Data were analyzed by using Fisher's exact test. The overall mortality rate for the study cohort was 13.5%. There were differences in case mortality rates between patients requiring one inotropic agent (0%) and patients requiring multiple inotropic agents (42.9%), between oncology patients who had undergone bone marrow transplantation (38.5%) and oncology patients without bone marrow transplantation (5.5%), and between patients with multiple organ system failure (18.6%) and those without multiple organ system failure (0%); p <.05. There did not appear to be differences in the case mortality rates between oncology and nononcology patients or among patients with varying degrees of neutropenia. CONCLUSIONS: The mortality rate in pediatric septic shock is lower than has been previously reported. Oncologic illness in the absence of bone marrow transplantation does not appear to be associated with an increased mortality rate in children with septic shock. Bone marrow transplantation patients have an increased mortality rate compared with other patients with septic shock. Mortality from septic shock occurs most frequently in the context of multiple organ system failure.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: incidence and associated factors in a pediatric critical care population.

BACKGROUND: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome may occur frequently and be underrecognized in children and young adults admitted to a pediatric critical care unit. METHODS: Patients <21 years of age with the diagnosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome were reviewed in this retrospective cohort study conducted over a 30-month period. RESULTS: There were 2588 admissions to pediatric critical care unit, 226 neurology service consultations, and 10 patients diagnosed with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (incidence of 1 in 259 pediatric critical care unit admissions, 0.4%). The majority of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome patients (9/10) presented with generalized tonic and or clonic seizures. Apart from hypertension and cytotoxic medication use, anemia, a previously unreported risk factor, was found in all 10 (100%) patients with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. One-year follow up available in eight patients showed no residual neurological deficits attributable to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome with significant resolution of white matter signal abnormalities on neuroimaging. CONCLUSION: Our case cohort includes an estimation of incidence of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in children and young adults with 1-year follow-up and anemia as a potential previously unreported risk factor.

Alteplase in the treatment of complicated parapneumonic effusion: a case report.

The treatment of complex parapneumonic effusions in children remains controversial, with some advocating less invasive, strictly medical management and others supporting a more aggressive approach of thoracotomy with or without decortication. Recent advances, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy, offer new options for effective treatment. We report the first case of successful resolution of a complex parapneumonic effusion in a 16-month-old girl with the use of tissue plasminogen activator (alteplase), infused via a catheter in the pleural space.