Epinephrine at 25°C Core Body Temperature and During Rewarming: Case Report of Successful Infant Resuscitation After Cold Water Submersion.

Epinephrine plays a controversial role in accidental hypothermia (<30°C). We report its use in the advanced life support of a 13-month-old white girl with pulseless electrical activity and 25°C core body temperature after 32 minutes of submersion in a fast-running Swiss mountain stream at 8°C. Two doses of epinephrine (10 µg/kg) were given in the field, followed by 12 doses (10 µg/kg) and an infusion of 0.1 µg/kg per minute during rewarming. Spontaneous circulation returned at 29.5°C after 2.5 hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Neurologic long-term outcome was excellent. We conclude that in the presence of nonshockable rhythm the benefits of epinephrine may outweigh the risks of side effects when used in pediatric advanced life support for accidental hypothermia.

Burden of Streptococcus pneumoniae Sepsis in Children After Introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines: A Prospective Population-based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Population-based studies assessing the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) on burden of pneumococcal sepsis in children are lacking. We aimed to assess this burden following introduction of PCV-13 in a nationwide cohort study. METHODS: The Swiss Pediatric Sepsis Study (September 2011 to December 2015) prospectively recruited children <17 years of age with blood culture-proven sepsis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, meeting criteria for systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Infection with vaccine serotype in children up to date with PCV immunization was defined as vaccine failure. Main outcomes were admission to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and length of hospital stay (LOS). RESULTS: Children with pneumococcal sepsis (n = 117) accounted for a crude incidence of 2.0 per 100 000 children (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-2.4) and 25% of community-acquired sepsis episodes. Case fatality rate was 8%. Forty-two (36%) patients required PICU admission. Children with meningitis (29; 25%) were more often infected by serotypes not included in PCV (69% vs 31%; P < .001). Sixteen (26%) of 62 children up to date with PCV immunization presented with vaccine failure, including 11 infected with serotype 3. In multivariable analyses, children with meningitis (odds ratio [OR] 6.8; 95% CI 2.4-19.3; P < .001) or infected with serotype 3 (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.1-7.3; P = .04) were more often admitted to PICU. Children infected with serotype 3 had longer LOS (ß coefficient 0.2, 95% CI .1-1.1; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pneumococcal sepsis in children shortly after introduction of PCV-13 remained substantial. Meningitis mostly due to non-vaccine serotypes and disease caused by serotype 3 represented significant predictors of severity.

Current practice of transitional care for adolescents and young adults in Swiss paediatric and adult rheumatology centres.

BACKGROUND: About half of all children with rheumatic diseases need continuous medical care during adolescence and adulthood. A good transition into adult rheumatology is essential. Guidelines for a structured transition process have therefore been recommended by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS). However, implementation of these guidelines requires resources often not available in a busy clinical practice. AIMS: To assess the current practice of transitional care in Switzerland in relation to EULAR/PReS recommendations and to describe gaps and challenges in following the recommendations. METHODS: All paediatric Swiss rheumatology centres and their collaborating adult centres offering a transition service to adult care were invited to participate in this survey. The responsible paediatric and adult rheumatologist of each centre was interviewed separately using a structured manual addressing the EULAR/PReS transitional care recommendations. RESULTS: All 10 paediatric and 9 out of 10 adult rheumatologists agreed to participate. Centres varied in the number of patients in transition, from n = 0 to n = 111. The following EULAR/PReS recommendations were implemented and applied in most centres: continuity in the healthcare team, consultations focused on adolescents and young adults, joint consultations between the paediatric and adult rheumatologist, and access to the EULAR website. Only rarely did a centre have a written transition policy or evaluate their transitional care programme. The vast majority of the interviewees had no specific training in adolescent health. Most centres rated their transitional care performance as very good. CONCLUSION: Transition in Switzerland is not uniform and consequently the implementation of the EULAR/PReS recommendations is variable in Swiss rheumatology centres. Skills of healthcare professionals, continuity between clinical settings, size of the centres, and hospital focus on the needs of adolescents and young adults may represent key predictors of successful transitional care for patients with chronic rheumatic diseases. Future studies should examine these variables.

Epidemiology of blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis in children in Switzerland: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide. We assessed population-based incidence and outcomes of blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis in children in Switzerland. METHODS: We did a multicentre, prospective, cohort study at ten paediatric hospitals in Switzerland. We included neonates and children younger than 17 years with blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis. Children were eligible if they met criteria for systemic inflammatory response syndrome-according to 2005 paediatric consensus definition- at the time of blood culture sampling. Incidence was calculated by dividing the number of annual sepsis episodes in the study for the years 2012-15 by the end-of-year resident paediatric population in Switzerland. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality in the first 30 days after sepsis onset. FINDINGS: Between Sept 1, 2011, and Dec 31, 2015, we enrolled 1096 children to our study. Of 1181 episodes of blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis, 382 (32%) occurred in 379 previously healthy children, 402 (34%) in 391 neonates, and 397 (34%) in 341 children with comorbidities. Incidence was 25·1 cases per 100 000 (95% CI 23·8-26·4) in children and 146·0 cases per 100 000 (133·2-159·6) in neonates. Central line-associated bloodstream infections and primary bloodstream infections accounted for 569 (48%) of 1181 episodes, and organ dysfunction was present in 455 (39%) of 1181 episodes. Escherichia coli (242 of 1181 [20%]), Staphylococcus aureus (177 of 1181 [15%]), coagulase-negative staphylococci (135 of 1181 [11%]), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (118 of 1181 [10%]) were the most prevalent pathogens in our study, accounting for 57% of episodes. The overall case-fatality ratio was 7% (82 of 1181 episodes; 95% CI 5·6-8·6), and it was higher in neonates (11%, 45 of 402 episodes; 8·4-14·8; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 4·41, 95% CI 1·75-11·1) and children with comorbidities (7%, 27 of 397 episodes; 4·6-9·9; OR 4·97, 1·84-13·4) compared with previously healthy children (3%, ten of 382 episodes; 1·3-4·9). The case-fatality ratio was 1% (five of 726 episodes [95% CI 0·3-1·7]) for children without organ dysfunction, which increased to 17% (77 of 455 episodes [13·7-20·8]) when organ dysfunction was present (adjusted OR 4·84, 95% CI 1·40-16·7). INTERPRETATION: The burden of blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis on child health remains considerable. We recorded key differences in predominant organisms, severity, and outcome between neonates, previously healthy children, and children with comorbidities. Although for most episodes of blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis, no organ dysfunction was seen, presence of organ dysfunction was strongly associated with mortality. FUNDING: Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Society of Intensive Care, Bangerter Foundation, Vinetum and Borer Foundation, and Foundation for the Health of Children and Adolescents.

Clinical course and therapeutic approach to varicella zoster virus infection in children with rheumatic autoimmune diseases under immunosuppression.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the clinical presentation and complications of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in children with rheumatic diseases treated with immunosuppressive medication such as biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and/or conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), and to analyze the therapeutic approach to VZV infections with respect to the concomitant immunosuppressive treatment. METHODS: Retrospective multicenter study using the Swiss Pediatric Rheumatology registry. Children with rheumatic diseases followed in a Swiss center for pediatric rheumatology and treated with cDMARD and/or bDMARD with a clinical diagnosis of varicella or herpes zoster between January 2004 and December 2013 were included. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were identified, of whom 20 were treated for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 1 for a polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type III, and 1 for uveitis. Of these 22 patients, 16 had varicella and 6 had herpes zoster. Median age at VZV disease was 7.6 years (range 2 to 17 years), with 6.3 years (range 2 to 17 years) for those with varicella and 11.6 years (range 5 to 16 years) for those with herpes zoster. The median interval between start of immunosuppression and VZV disease was 14.1 months (range 1 to 63 months). Two patients had received varicella vaccine (1 dose each) prior to start of immunosuppression. Concomitant immunosuppressive therapy was methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy (n = 9) or bDMARD monotherapy (n = 2), or a combination of bDMARD with prednisone, MTX or Leflunomide (n = 11). Four patients experienced VZV related complications: cellulitis in 1 patient treated with MTX, and cellulitis, sepsis and cerebellitis in 3 patients treated with biological agents and MTX combination therapy. Six children were admitted to hospital (range of duration: 4 to 9 days) and 12 were treated with valaciclovir or aciclovir. CONCLUSION: The clinical course of varicella and herpes zoster in children under immunosuppression is variable, with 4 (18 %) of 22 children showing a complicated course. Thorough assessment of VZV disease and vaccination history and correct VZV vaccination according to national guidelines at diagnosis of a rheumatic autoimmune disease is essential to minimize VZV complications during a later immunosuppressive treatment.

Incidence and Outcome of Group B Streptococcal Sepsis in Infants in Switzerland.

The incidence and outcome of group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis were assessed prospectively between September 2011 and February 2015 in all tertiary care pediatric hospitals of Switzerland. We describe a low incidence of GBS early-onset sepsis (0.12/1000 livebirths) and a predominance of GBS late-onset sepsis (0.36/1000 livebirths), a pattern that has not been reported in other countries.