Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Permissive Blood Pressure Target Versus Usual Care in Critically Ill Children with Hypotension (PRESSURE).

OBJECTIVES: Management of hypotension is a fundamental part of pediatric critical care, with cardiovascular support in the form of fluids or vasoactive drugs offered to every hypotensive child. However, optimal blood pressure (BP) targets are unknown. The PRotocolised Evaluation of PermiSSive BP Targets Versus Usual CaRE (PRESSURE) trial aims to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a permissive mean arterial pressure (MAP) target of greater than a fifth centile for age compared with usual care. DESIGN: Pragmatic, open, multicenter, parallel-group randomized control trial (RCT) with integrated economic evaluation. SETTING: Eighteen PICUs across the United Kingdom. PATIENTS: Infants and children older than 37 weeks corrected gestational age to 16 years accepted to a participating PICU, on mechanical ventilation and receiving vasoactive drugs for hypotension. INTERVENTIONS: Adjustment of hemodynamic support to achieve a permissive MAP target greater than fifth centile for age during invasive mechanical ventilation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Randomization is 1:1 to a permissive MAP target or usual care, stratified by site and age group. Due to the emergency nature of the treatment, approaching patients for written informed consent will be deferred until after randomization. The primary clinical outcome is a composite of death and days of ventilatory support at 30 days. Baseline demographics and clinical status will be recorded as well as daily measures of BP and organ support, and discharge outcomes. This RCT received Health Research Authority approval (reference 289545), and a favorable ethical opinion from the East of England-Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee on May 10, 2021 (reference number 21/EE/0084). The trial is registered and has an International Standard RCT Number (reference 20609635). CONCLUSIONS: Trial findings will be disseminated in U.K. national and international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Criteria for Pediatric Sepsis-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Pediatric Sepsis Definition Taskforce.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the associations of demographic, clinical, laboratory, organ dysfunction, and illness severity variable values with: 1) sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock in children with infection and 2) multiple organ dysfunction or death in children with sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from January 1, 2004, and November 16, 2020. STUDY SELECTION: Case-control studies, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials in children greater than or equal to 37-week-old postconception to 18 years with suspected or confirmed infection, which included the terms "sepsis," "septicemia," or "septic shock" in the title or abstract. DATA EXTRACTION: Study characteristics, patient demographics, clinical signs or interventions, laboratory values, organ dysfunction measures, and illness severity scores were extracted from eligible articles. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed. DATA SYNTHESIS: One hundred and six studies met eligibility criteria of which 81 were included in the meta-analysis. Sixteen studies (9,629 patients) provided data for the sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock outcome and 71 studies (154,674 patients) for the mortality outcome. In children with infection, decreased level of consciousness and higher Pediatric Risk of Mortality scores were associated with sepsis/severe sepsis. In children with sepsis/severe sepsis/septic shock, chronic conditions, oncologic diagnosis, use of vasoactive/inotropic agents, mechanical ventilation, serum lactate, platelet count, fibrinogen, procalcitonin, multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score, Pediatric Index of Mortality-3, and Pediatric Risk of Mortality score each demonstrated significant and consistent associations with mortality. Pooled mortality rates varied among high-, upper middle-, and lower middle-income countries for patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Strong associations of several markers of organ dysfunction with the outcomes of interest among infected and septic children support their inclusion in the data validation phase of the Pediatric Sepsis Definition Taskforce.

Machine learning model for early prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) in pediatric critical care.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) in pediatric critical care patients is diagnosed using elevated serum creatinine, which occurs only after kidney impairment. There are no treatments other than supportive care for AKI once it has developed, so it is important to identify patients at risk to prevent injury. This study develops a machine learning model to learn pre-disease patterns of physiological measurements and predict pediatric AKI up to 48 h earlier than the currently established diagnostic guidelines. METHODS: EHR data from 16,863 pediatric critical care patients between 1 month to 21 years of age from three independent institutions were used to develop a single machine learning model for early prediction of creatinine-based AKI using intelligently engineered predictors, such as creatinine rate of change, to automatically assess real-time AKI risk. The primary outcome is prediction of moderate to severe AKI (Stage 2/3), and secondary outcomes are prediction of any AKI (Stage 1/2/3) and requirement of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Predictions generate alerts allowing fast assessment and reduction of AKI risk, such as: "patient has 90% risk of developing AKI in the next 48 h" along with contextual information and suggested response such as "patient on aminoglycosides, suggest check level and review dose and indication". RESULTS: The model was successful in predicting Stage 2/3 AKI prior to detection by conventional criteria with a median lead-time of 30 h at AUROC of 0.89. The model predicted 70% of subsequent RRT episodes, 58% of Stage 2/3 episodes, and 41% of any AKI episodes. The ratio of false to true alerts of any AKI episodes was approximately one-to-one (PPV 47%). Among patients predicted, 79% received potentially nephrotoxic medication after being identified by the model but before development of AKI. CONCLUSIONS: As the first multi-center validated AKI prediction model for all pediatric critical care patients, the machine learning model described in this study accurately predicts moderate to severe AKI up to 48 h in advance of AKI onset. The model may improve outcome of pediatric AKI by providing early alerting and actionable feedback, potentially preventing or reducing AKI by implementing early measures such as medication adjustment.

Perspective of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign on the Management of Pediatric Sepsis in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a novel cause of organ dysfunction in children, presenting as either coronavirus disease 2019 with sepsis and/or respiratory failure or a hyperinflammatory shock syndrome. Clinicians must now consider these diagnoses when evaluating children for septic shock and sepsis-associated organ dysfunction. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for the Management of Septic Shock and Sepsis-associated Organ Dysfunction in Children provide an appropriate framework for the early recognition and initial resuscitation of children with sepsis or septic shock caused by all pathogens, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. However, the potential benefits of select adjunctive therapies may differ from non-coronavirus disease 2019 sepsis.

Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for the Management of Septic Shock and Sepsis-Associated Organ Dysfunction in Children.

OBJECTIVES: To develop evidence-based recommendations for clinicians caring for children (including infants, school-aged children, and adolescents) with septic shock and other sepsis-associated organ dysfunction. DESIGN: A panel of 49 international experts, representing 12 international organizations, as well as three methodologists and three public members was convened. Panel members assembled at key international meetings (for those panel members attending the conference), and a stand-alone meeting was held for all panel members in November 2018. A formal conflict-of-interest policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussion among the chairs, co-chairs, methodologists, and group heads, as well as within subgroups, served as an integral part of the guideline development process. METHODS: The panel consisted of six subgroups: recognition and management of infection, hemodynamics and resuscitation, ventilation, endocrine and metabolic therapies, adjunctive therapies, and research priorities. We conducted a systematic review for each Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcomes question to identify the best available evidence, statistically summarized the evidence, and then assessed the quality of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. We used the evidence-to-decision framework to formulate recommendations as strong or weak, or as a best practice statement. In addition, "in our practice" statements were included when evidence was inconclusive to issue a recommendation, but the panel felt that some guidance based on practice patterns may be appropriate. RESULTS: The panel provided 77 statements on the management and resuscitation of children with septic shock and other sepsis-associated organ dysfunction. Overall, six were strong recommendations, 52 were weak recommendations, and nine were best-practice statements. For 13 questions, no recommendations could be made; but, for 10 of these, "in our practice" statements were provided. In addition, 49 research priorities were identified. CONCLUSIONS: A large cohort of international experts was able to achieve consensus regarding many recommendations for the best care of children with sepsis, acknowledging that most aspects of care had relatively low quality of evidence resulting in the frequent issuance of weak recommendations. Despite this challenge, these recommendations regarding the management of children with septic shock and other sepsis-associated organ dysfunction provide a foundation for consistent care to improve outcomes and inform future research.

Mortality and morbidity in community-acquired sepsis in European pediatric intensive care units: a prospective cohort study from the European Childhood Life-threatening Infectious Disease Study (EUCLIDS).

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is one of the main reasons for non-elective admission to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), but little is known about determinants influencing outcome. We characterized children admitted with community-acquired sepsis to European PICUs and studied risk factors for mortality and disability. METHODS: Data were collected within the collaborative Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)-funded EUCLIDS study, which is a prospective multicenter cohort study aiming to evaluate genetic determinants of susceptibility and/or severity in sepsis. This report includes 795 children admitted with community-acquired sepsis to 52 PICUs from seven European countries between July 2012 and January 2016. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital death. Secondary outcome measures were PICU-free days censured at day 28, hospital length of stay, and disability. Independent predictors were identified by multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Patients most commonly presented clinically with sepsis without a source (n = 278, 35%), meningitis/encephalitis (n = 182, 23%), or pneumonia (n = 149, 19%). Of 428 (54%) patients with confirmed bacterial infection, Neisseria meningitidis (n = 131, 31%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 78, 18%) were the main pathogens. Mortality was 6% (51/795), increasing to 10% in the presence of septic shock (45/466). Of the survivors, 31% were discharged with disability, including 24% of previously healthy children who survived with disability. Mortality and disability were independently associated with S. pneumoniae infections (mortality OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.1-16.0, P = 0.04; disability OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.8-15.8, P < 0.01) and illness severity as measured by Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM2) score (mortality OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.1, P < 0.01; disability OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.8-6.4, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite widespread immunization campaigns, invasive bacterial disease remains responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality in critically ill children in high-income countries. Almost one third of sepsis survivors admitted to the PICU were discharged with some disability. More research is required to delineate the long-term outcome of pediatric sepsis and to identify interventional targets. Our findings emphasize the importance of improved early sepsis-recognition programs to address the high burden of disease.

Attitudes towards fever amongst UK paediatric intensive care staff.

The role played by fever in the outcome of critical illness in children is unclear. This survey of medical and nursing staff in 35 paediatric intensive care units and transport teams in the United Kingdom and Ireland established attitudes towards the management of children with fever. Four hundred sixty-two medical and nursing staff responded to a web-based survey request. Respondents answered eight questions regarding thresholds for temperature control in usual clinical practice, indications for paracetamol use, and readiness to participate in a clinical trial of permissive temperature control. The median reported threshold for treating fever in clinical practice was 38 °C (IQR 38-38.5 °C). Paracetamol was reported to be used as an analgesic and antipyretic but also for non-specific comfort indications. There was a widespread support for a clinical trial of a permissive versus a conservative approach to fever in paediatric intensive care units. Within a trial, 58% of the respondents considered a temperature of 39 °C acceptable without treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Staff on paediatric intensive care units in the United Kingdom and Ireland tends to treat temperatures within the febrile range. There was a willingness to conduct a randomized controlled trial of treatment of fever. What is known: • The effect of fever on the outcome in paediatric critical illness is unknown. • Paediatricians have traditionally been reluctant to allow fever in sick children. What is new: • Paediatric intensive care staff report a tendency towards treating fever, with a median reported treatment threshold of 38 °C. • There is widespread support amongst PICU staff in the UK for a randomized controlled trial of temperature in critically ill children. • Within a trial setting, PICU staff attitudes to fever are more permissive than in clinical practice.

The Impact of Chronic Health Conditions on Length of Stay and Mortality in a General PICU.

OBJECTIVES: Each year approximately 20,000 children are admitted to PICUs across the United Kingdom. It is highlighted in several international studies that 40-70% of children admitted to PICUs have at least one chronic health condition that leads to increased length of stay and higher mortality rates. The prevalence of chronic health conditions in children admitted to U.K. PICUs is unknown. The purpose of this study was to use existing clinical data to explore the prevalence and impact of chronic health conditions on length of stay and mortality in a tertiary U.K. PICU. DESIGN: Single-centre retrospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Single, tertiary referral PICU. PATIENTS: One thousand one hundred ninety-seven children 0-18 years old admitted between March 1, 2009, and February 28, 2013. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data were derived from the unit's data submitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network, the U.K. national PICU dataset. Data included demographics, diagnosis, Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 score, PICU interventions, PICU outcomes, chronic health condition etiologies, admission, and discharge dates and times. In total, 554 of 1,197 (46.3%) had at least one chronic health condition. Of 554, 371 patients (67.1%) presented with a single chronic health condition, 126 (22.6%) with two chronic health conditions, and 57 (10.3%) with at least three chronic health conditions to a maximum of four chronic health conditions. There was a statistically significant difference in length of stay in those with a chronic health condition compared with those without (medians, 4 vs 3 d [interquartile range, 1-7 d]; Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001). The length of stay also increased significantly according to the number of chronic health conditions (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.001). Mortality was significantly different between those with and without chronic health conditions (8.8% vs 5.4%; chi-square test, p = 0.024). Having two or at least three chronic health conditions significantly increased mortality compared with no chronic health conditions (odds ratio, 2.3 [CI, 1.2-4.55]; p = 0.013 and 2.95 [CI, 1.28-6.8]; p = 0.011), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing number of chronic healthcare conditions is associated with length of stay and mortality.

Admission Plasma Troponin I Is Associated With Mortality in Pediatric Intensive Care.

OBJECTIVES: Assessment of whether admission plasma troponin I level is associated with mortality or requirement for vasoactive drugs in pediatric intensive care. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Single centre, tertiary referral general PICU, without a cardiac surgical program. PATIENTS: Three hundred and nineteen patients 0-18 years old in two cohorts. Cohort 1 was admitted between January 2009 and September 2012 and the cohort 2 between April 2014 and April 2015. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Plasma troponin I was measured in patients in cohort 1 only if the attending physician ordered the test due to clinical concern regarding myocardial injury. The second cohort had plasma troponin I routinely measured at admission. The primary outcome was death during PICU admission, and the secondary outcome was maximum inotrope requirement during PICU stay, measured by Vasoactive Inotrope Score. Plasma troponin I was a discriminator for mortality in both cohorts (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.73 and 0.86 in cohorts 1 and 2, respectively). In an adjusted analysis using Cox regression, accounting for Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 risk of mortality and age, elevated plasma troponin I was significantly associated with death in both cohorts (hazard ratio, 4.99; p = 0.033; hazard ratio, 10.5; p = 0.026 in cohorts 1 and 2, respectively). Elevated plasma troponin I was only associated with increased Vasoactive Inotrope Score following multivariate analysis in the cohort 2. CONCLUSIONS: Detectable plasma troponin I at admission to PICU is independently associated with death. The utility of troponin I as a stratification biomarker requires further evaluation.

Fluid overload at 48 hours is associated with respiratory morbidity but not mortality in a general PICU: retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Recent evidence suggests that fluid overload may be deleterious to critically ill children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of early fluid overload with respiratory morbidity and mortality in patients admitted to a general PICU. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Single, tertiary referral PICU. PATIENTS SIX HUNDRED THIRTY-SIX: patients aged 0-16 years invasively ventilated at 48 hours post admission, admitted between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2013. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data collected included demographics, diagnosis, Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 score, and fluid overload percent at 48 hours from admission. Fluid overload percent was calculated as (cumulative fluid in - cumulative fluid out (L))/hospital admission weight (kg) × 100%. Outcome measures were oxygenation index at 48 hours from admission, death, and invasive ventilation days in survivors. Data are reported as median (interquartile range) and were analyzed using nonparametric tests. The median age was 1.05 years (0.3-4.2 yr). Fifty-three patients (8%) died. Median duration of ventilation in survivors was 5 days (3-8 d). Fluid overload percent correlated significantly with oxygenation index (Spearman ρ, 0.318; p < 0.0001) and with invasive ventilation days in survivors (Spearman ρ, 0.274; p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in fluid overload percent between survivors and nonsurvivors. Regression analysis demonstrated that fluid overload percent was a significant predictor of both oxygenation index at 48 hours (p < 0.001) and invasive ventilation days (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Fluid overload at 48 hours was associated with oxygenation index at 48 hours and invasive ventilation days in survivors in a general PICU population. There was no association of fluid overload at 48 hours with mortality.

Timing of death in children referred for intensive care with severe sepsis: implications for interventional studies.

OBJECTIVE: Early deaths in pediatric sepsis may limit the impact of therapies that can only be provided on PICUs. By introducing selection and survivorship biases, these very early deaths may also undermine the results of trials that employ standard consent procedures. We hypothesized that: 1) the majority of deaths in children with severe sepsis occur very early, within 24 hours of referral to PICU; and 2) a significant proportion of deaths occur before PICU admission. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: We studied consecutive referrals of newborns through to 16 years of age, between 2005 and 2011 to the Children's Acute Transport Service, the North Thames regional pediatric intensive care transport service, with a working diagnosis of "sepsis," "severe sepsis," "meningococcal sepsis," or "septic shock." INTERVENTIONS: The primary outcome measure was the proportion of deaths within 24 hours of referral. Survival distributions of previously healthy children were compared with those with significant comorbidities. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirteen thousand four hundred and nine referrals were made to Children's Acute Transport Service, of whom 703 (5%) met inclusion criteria. Data on survival to 1 year were available in 627 of 703 patients (89%). One hundred thirty children (130/627; 21%; 95% CI, 18-24%) died in the first year. A higher proportion of children with comorbidity cases (46/85, 54%, 44-64) died compared with previously healthy cases (84/542; 16%; 13-19; p < 0.0005, Fisher exact test). Seventy-one deaths occurred within 24 hours of PICU referral (71/130, 55%, 46-63). The timing of death differed with comorbidity. Similar proportions of children survived to 24 hours (previously healthy children 90% vs children with comorbidity 83%, p = 0.06). However, deaths after 24 hours were infrequent among previously healthy cases (28/84 deaths, 33%, 24-44%) compared with children with comorbidity cases (31/46 deaths, 66%, 53-79%) (p < 0.001, Fisher exact test). CONCLUSIONS: This majority of deaths among children referred for pediatric intensive care with for severe sepsis occur within 24 hours. This has important implications for future clinical trials and quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving sepsis outcomes.

Management of children in the deployed intensive care unit at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

BACKGROUND: The deployed Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) in the British military field hospital in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, admits both adults and children. The purpose of this paper is to review the paediatric workload in the deployed ITU and to describe how the unit copes with the challenge of looking after critically injured and ill children. METHODS: Retrospective review of patients <16 years of age admitted to the ITU in the British military field hospital in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, over a 1-year period from April 2011 to April 2012. RESULTS: 112/811 (14%) admissions to the ITU were paediatric (median age 8 years, IQR 6-12, range 1-16). 80/112 were trauma admissions, 13 were burns, four were non-trauma admissions and 15 were readmissions. Mechanism of injury in trauma was blunt in 12, blast (improvised explosive device) in 45, blast (indirect fire) in seven and gunshot wound in 16. Median length of stay was 0.92 days (IQR 0.45-2.65). 82/112 admissions (73%) were mechanically ventilated, 16/112 (14%) required inotropic support. 12/112 (11%) died before unit discharge. Trauma scoring was available in 65 of the 80 trauma admissions. Eight had Injury Severity Score or New Injury Severity Score >60, none of whom survived. However, of the 16 patients with predicted mortality >50% by Trauma Injury Severity Score, seven survived. Seven cases required specialist advice and were discussed with the Birmingham Children's Hospital paediatric intensive care retrieval service. The mechanisms by which the Defence Medical Services support children admitted to the deployed adult ITU are described, including staff training in clinical, ethical and child protection issues, equipment, guidelines and clinical governance and rapid access to specialist advice in the UK. CONCLUSIONS: With appropriate support, it is possible to provide intensive care to children in a deployed military ITU.

A new scoring system derived from base excess and platelet count at presentation predicts mortality in paediatric meningococcal sepsis.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to derive a novel prognostic score for mortality in paediatric meningococcal sepsis (MS) based on readily available laboratory markers. METHODS: A multicentre retrospective cohort study for the consortium set and a single centre retrospective study for replication set. The consortium set were 1,073 children (age 1 week to 17.9 years) referred over a 15-year period (1996 to 2011), who had an admission diagnosis of MS, referred to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in six different European centres. The consortium set was split into a development set and validation set to derive the score. The replication set were 134 children with MS (age 2 weeks to 16 years) referred over a 4-year period (2007 to 2011) to PICUs via the Children's Acute Transport Service (CATS), London. RESULTS: A total of 85/1,073 (7.9%) children in the consortium set died. A total of 16/134 (11.9%) children in the replication set died. Children dying in the consortium set had significantly lower base excess, C-reactive protein (CRP), platelet and white cell count, more deranged coagulation and higher lactate than survivors. Paediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) score, Glasgow meningococcal septicaemia prognosis score (GMSPS) and Rotterdam score were also higher. Using the consortium set, a new scoring system using base excess and platelet count at presentation, termed the BEP score, was mathematically developed and validated. BEP predicted mortality with high sensitivity and specificity scores (area under the curve (AUC) in the validation set=0.86 and in the replication set=0.96). In the validation set, BEP score performance (AUC=0.86, confidence interval (CI): 0.80 to 0.91) was better than GMSPS (AUC=0.77, CI: 0.68, 0.85), similar to Rotterdam (AUC=0.87, CI: 0.81 to 0.93) and not as good as PRISM (AUC=0.93, CI: 0.85 to 0.97). CONCLUSIONS: The BEP score, relying on only two variables that are quickly and objectively measurable and readily available at presentation, is highly sensitive and specific in predicting death from MS in childhood.

Hyperchloremia on Admission to Pediatric Intensive Care in Mechanically Ventilated Children is Associated with Impaired Renal Function.

Objective There is recent interest in the association between hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis and adverse outcomes. In vitro, hyperchloremia causes renal vasoconstriction and fall in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The objective of this retrospective, observational study is to examine associations between chloride level at admission to pediatric intensive care (PICU) and worst GFR and requirement for renal replacement therapy. Materials and Methods All admissions to PICU between 2009 and 2019 who received invasive mechanical ventilation and had blood gas analysis performed were included. Data analyzed included patient characteristics (age, gender, diagnosis, pediatric index of mortality [PIM]-2 score); results of initial blood gas; and maximum serum creatinine (then used to calculate minimum GFR). Primary outcome measure was worst GFR during PICU stay. Secondary outcome measures were requirement for renal replacement therapy and PICU mortality. Multivariable regression analysis was used to assess if admission chloride level was independently predictive of minimum GFR during PICU stay and to examine associations between hyperchloremia (>110 mEq/L) at admission and requirement for renal replacement therapy after adjustment for confounders. Results Data were available for 2,217 patients. Median age was 16.4 months and 39% of patients were hyperchloremic at admission to PICU. Admission chloride level was independently predictive of worst GFR during PICU stay after adjustment for known confounders. Patients with hyperchloremia were not more likely to require renal replacement therapy or die than patients with normochloremia. Conclusion Prospective studies are necessary to determine if high chloride, specifically chloride containing resuscitation fluids, have a causal relationship with poor outcomes.

Psychological impact of working in paediatric intensive care. A UK-wide prevalence study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of work-related psychological distress in staff working in UK paediatric intensive care units (PICU). DESIGN: Online (Qualtrics) staff questionnaire, conducted April to May 2018. SETTING: Staff working in 29 PICUs and 10 PICU transport services were invited to participate. PARTICIPANTS: 1656 staff completed the survey: 1194 nurses, 270 physicians and 192 others. 234 (14%) respondents were male. Median age was 35 (IQR 28-44). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Moral Distress Scale-Revised (MDS-R) was used to look at moral distress, the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory to examine the depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion domains of burnout, and the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ) to assess risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). RESULTS: 435/1194 (36%) nurses, 48/270 (18%) physicians and 19/192 (10%) other staff scored above the study threshold for moral distress (≥90 on MDS-R) (χ2 test, p<0.00001). 594/1194 (50%) nurses, 99/270 (37%) physicians and 86/192 (45%) other staff had high burnout scores (χ2 test, p=0.0004). 366/1194 (31%) nurses, 42/270 (16%) physicians and 21/192 (11%) other staff scored at risk for PTSD (χ2 test, p<0.00001). Junior nurses were at highest risk of moral distress and PTSD, and junior doctors of burnout. Larger unit size was associated with higher MDS-R, burnout and TSQ scores. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that UK PICU staff are experiencing work-related distress. Further studies are needed to understand causation and to develop strategies for prevention and treatment.