Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) and the Spanish Society of Pediatric Intensive Care (SECIP) consensus recommendations for ECMO transport.

The evolution of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment and the transport of patients receiving this treatment has changed dramatically in the last decade unevenly in different regions. The creation of specialized referral centers has been shown to improve outcomes. For all these reasons, it has been necessary to create networks of specialized teams and the number of secondary transports of patients with this treatment is increasing. In order to improve the quality of treatment and offer a guide to the services involved in these transports, the critical transport working groups of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) and the Spanish Society of Pediatric Intensive Care (SECIP) have carried out a joint effort to prepare these recommendations, focused on the following aspects: indications, reference center systems, means of transport, characteristics and equipment, human teams, training and clinical safety.

Specificity and sensibility of the Spanish version of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale for assessing pain, grade of sedation and withdrawal syndrome in the critically ill paediatric patient. Multicentre COSAIP study (Phase 1).

AIM: The main aim of this investigation was to analyse the specificity and sensibility of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale (CBS-S) in assessing grade of pain, sedation, and withdrawal syndrome in paediatric critical care patients. METHOD: An observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multicentre study conducted in Level III Intensive Care Areas of 5 children's university hospitals. Grade of sedation was assessed using the Spanish version of the CBS-S and the Bispectral Index on sedation, once per shift over one day. Grade of withdrawal was determined using the CBS-S and the Withdrawal Assessment Tool-1, once per shift over three days. RESULTS: A total of 261 critically ill paediatric patients with a median age of 5.07 years (P25:0.9-P75:11.7) were included in this study. In terms of the predictive capacity of the CBS-S, it obtained a Receiver Operation Curve of .84 (sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 76%) in relation to pain; .62 (sensitivity of 21% and specificity of 78%) in relation to sedation grade, and .73% (sensitivity of 40% and specificity of 74%) in determining withdrawal syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale could be a useful, sensible and easy scale to assess the degree of pain, sedation and pharmacological withdrawal of critically ill paediatric patients.

Grade of sedation in the critically ill paediatric patient and its correlation with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Multicentre COSAIP study. / Grado de sedación del paciente crítico pediátrico y variables sociodemográficas y clínicas correlacionadas. Estudio multicéntrico COSAIP.

AIMS: To determine the grade of sedation in the critically ill paediatric patient using Biespectral Index Sensor (BIS) and to analyse its relationship with sociodemographic and clinical patient variables. METHODS: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multicentre study performed from May 2018 to January 2020 in 5 Spanish paediatric critical care units. Sex, age, reason for admission, presence of a chronic pathology, type and number of drugs and length of stay were the sociodemographic and clinical variables registered. Furthermore, the grade of sedation was assessed using BIS, 11per shift over 24hours. RESULTS: A total of 261 paediatric patients, 53.64% of whom were male, with a median age of 1.61 years (0.35-6.55), were included in the study. Of the patients, 70.11% (n=183) were under analgosedation and monitored using the BIS sensor. A median of BIS values of 51.24±14.96 during the morning and 50.75±15.55 during the night were observed. When comparing BIS values and sociodemographic and clinical paediatric variables no statistical significance was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limitations of the BIS, investigations and the present study show that BIS could be a useful instrument to assess grade of sedation in critically ill paediatric patients. However, further investigations which determine the sociodemographic and clinical variables involved in the grade of paediatric analgosedation, as well as studies that contrast the efficacy of clinical scales like the COMFORT Behaviour Scale-Spanish version, are required.

Specificity and sensibility of the Spanish version of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale for assessing pain, grade of sedation and withdrawal syndrome in the critically ill paediatric patient. Multicentre COSAIP study (Phase 1). / Especificidad y sensibilidad de la COMFORT Behavior Scale-Versión española para valorar el dolor, el grado de sedación y síndrome de abstinencia en el paciente crítico pediátrico. Estudio multicéntrico COSAIP (Fase 1).

AIM: The main aim of this investigation was to analyse the specificity and sensibility of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale (CBS-S) in assessing grade of pain, sedation, and withdrawal syndrome in paediatric critical care patients. METHOD: An observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multicentre study conducted in Level III Intensive Care Areas of 5 children's university hospitals. Grade of sedation was assessed using the Spanish version of the CBS-S and the Bispectral Index on sedation, once per shift over one day. Grade of withdrawal was determined using the CBS-S and the Withdrawal Assessment Tool-1, once per shift over three days. RESULTS: A total of 261 critically ill paediatric patients with a median age of 5.07 years (P25:0.9-P75:11.7) were included in this study. In terms of the predictive capacity of the CBS-S, it obtained a Receiver Operation Curve of .84 (sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 76%) in relation to pain; .62 (sensitivity of 21% and specificity of 78%) in relation to sedation grade, and .73% (sensitivity of 40% and specificity of 74%) in determining withdrawal syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the COMFORT Behaviour Scale could be a useful, sensible and easy scale to assess the degree of pain, sedation and pharmacological withdrawal of critically ill paediatric patients.

Grade of sedation in the critically ill pediatric patient and its correlation with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Multicentre COSAIP study.

AIMS: To determine the grade of sedation in the critically ill paediatric patient using Biespectral Index Sensor (BIS) and to analyse its relationship with sociodemographic and clinical patient variables. METHODS: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multicentre study performed from May 2018 to January 2020 in 5 Spanish paediatric critical care units. Sex, age, reason for admission, presence of a chronic pathology, type and number of drugs and length of stay were the sociodemographic and clinical variables registered. Furthermore, the grade of sedation was assessed using BIS, once per shift over 24 h. RESULTS: A total of 261 paediatric patients, 53.64% of whom were male, with a median age of 1.61 years (0.35-6.55), were included in the study. Of the patients, 70.11% (n = 183) were under analgosedation and monitored using the BIS sensor. A median of BIS values of 51.24 ±â€¯14.96 during the morning and 50.75 ±â€¯15.55 during the night were observed. When comparing BIS values and sociodemographic and clinical paediatric variables no statistical significance was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limitations of the BIS, investigations and the present study show that BIS could be a useful instrument to assess grade of sedation in critically ill paediatric patients. However, further investigations which determine the sociodemographic and clinical variables involved in the grade of paediatric analgosedation, as well as studies that contrast the efficacy of clinical scales like the COMFORT Behaviour Scale-Spanish version, are required.

[End-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit. A literature review]. / Cuidados al final de la vida en la unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátrica. Revisión de la bibliografía.

INTRODUCTION: In the last few years, there has been growing concern in the literature about issues related to end-of-life care in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), with special attention on the family/patient unit, communication, and a dignified death. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the experience and development of end-of-life care in PICUs through a literature review, by determining the type of studies that have been performed, their topics, the issues discussed, and their development in the last few years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Review of the medical literature in Medline and the database of the National Library of Medicine Gateway, using the key words from MeSH: "end of life", "pediatric intensive care", "critical care", "palliative care", "death", and "compassionate care". The earliest year of the search was 1990. The languages selected were English and Spanish. Inclusion criteria were the relationship with the topic to be studied, excluding articles with no abstract. Additional searches were made of references in selected articles. RESULTS: Eighty-one articles were retrieved from the initial search. Of these, 43 were selected as the most relevant investigations in end-of-life care in ICUs and 18 placed special emphasis on the PICU. More than half of the articles (62 %) were reviews and the remaining articles were descriptive or observational studies. The number of publications increased after 1995. Most of the studies were performed in the USA or Canada and only three studies were performed in Spain. CONCLUSIONS: In the last few years, several studies have been performed that reveal increasing concern about limits to therapeutic intervention and the need to improve end-of-life care in the PICU setting.

[Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis: report of five cases]. / Osteomielitis crónica multifocal recurrente.

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis is a rare disease of unknown etiology that mainly affects children. We present a retrospective review of the medical records of five patients with a diagnosis of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis in an infectious diseases clinic at a tertiary center. We describe the epidemiological, clinical and radiological features, laboratory, microbiological and histological findings, treatment, course and prognosis in these patients. There is no specific treatment for chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis. There are new treatment options such the combination of azithromycin and calcitonin in children without clinical improvement with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

[Respiratory syncitial virus in immunocompromised patients in a pediatric hospital: 5 years experience]. / Infección por virus respiratorio sincitial en los pacientes inmunodeprimidos en un hospital pediátrico: experiencia de 5 años.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised hosts. METHODS: A description is presented of all cases of RSV infection in immunocompromised pediatric patients in Hematology and Oncology and Immunodeficiency Units between 2008 and 2012. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were diagnosed with RSV infection. Nine patients required in-patient care and 2 required Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Five patients were treated with specific therapy (ribavirin ± palivizumab). No deaths occurred in the study period. CONCLUSION: RSV infection may be severe in immunocompromised pediatric patients.

[Scalp myiasis in an immigrant child]. / Miasis del cuero cabelludo en niño inmigrante.

Myiasis is caused by infestation of the skin by the larvae of flies. This entity has specific epidemiological characteristics. Although it is highly unusual in our environment, imported cases can be found because of increased traveling and immigration. The usual clinical manifestations are subcutaneous abscesses, where the larvae develop. Differential diagnosis includes common disorders such as cellulitis and furunculosis, but knowledge of this entity makes diagnosis and treatment simple. We describe the life cycle of the human botfly and the typical clinical presentation and management of this entity. We also highlight the increasing importance of greater awareness of imported diseases.

[Fast and spectacular clinical response to plasmapheresis in a paediatric case of anti-NMDA encephalitis]. / Respuesta clinica rapida y espectacular a plasmaferesis en un caso pediatrico de encefalitis anti-NMDA.

INTRODUCTION: Autoimmune encephalitis against N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is being diagnosed more and more frequently in the paediatric age. It should be suspected in children with psychiatric symptoms, encephalopathy, abnormal movements or epileptic seizures. Paraneoplastic cases are less frequent than in adults. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a boy, 2.5 years of age, with subacute encephalopathic signs and symptoms and epileptic seizures followed by behaviour disorders, neurological regression, dyskinesias and insomnia. Results of a cerebrospinal fluid study were normal, the magnetic resonance scan of the head revealed a focal periventricular lesion and diffuse leptomeningeal uptake; moreover, the serial electroencephalograms showed high-amplitude delta activity interspersed with generalised intercritical epileptiform activity. The patient was given empirical treatment with high doses of corticoids and intravenous immunoglobulins with no response. After showing up positive for antibodies against the NMDA receptor, plasmapheresis was begun, which led to his swift and spectacular recovery. After more than 18 months' follow-up, his sequelae are limited to mild behavioural and language alterations. He has had no relapses and has not needed any kind of maintenance treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-NMDA encephalitis is a treatable disorder and, sometimes, the first evidence of an underlying neoplasia, which makes its early recognition and treatment essential. Treatment of the non-paraneoplastic forms are based on immunotherapy: glucocorticoids, intravenous immunoglobulins, plasmapheresis and immunosuppressants. Plasmapheresis can bring about a fast, spectacular improvement.