"I Didn't Realize How Hard It Was Going to Be Just Transitioning Back into Life": A Qualitative Exploration of Outcomes for Survivors of Pediatric Septic Shock.

Recovery following pediatric critical illness is multifaceted and complex. While most critically ill children survive, many experience morbidities in physical, emotional, cognitive, and social function. We aimed to deeply explore and describe the multidimensional impact of pediatric septic shock for affected children and their families at the granular level using exploratory qualitative methodology. We performed semistructured telephone interviews of adolescents and caregivers of children admitted with community-acquired septic shock to two tertiary pediatric intensive care units in the United States. Interviews were conducted within two years of hospital admission, and were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Two adolescents and 10 caregivers were interviewed. Participants described meaningful and long-lasting outcomes of septic shock on multiple dimensions of their lives. The adolescents and caregivers described substantial negative consequences on physical health and function which resulted in increased medical complexity and heightened caregiver vigilance. The physical impact led to substantial psychosocial consequences for both the child and family, including social isolation. Most caregivers expressed that septic shock was transformational in their lives, with some caregivers describing posttraumatic growth. This preliminary study provides a novel, granular view of the multidimensional impact of septic shock in pediatric patients and their families. Exploring these experiences through qualitative methodology provides greater insight into important patient and family outcomes. Deeper understanding of these outcomes may support the development of meaningful interventions to improve quality of life for children and their families following critical illness.

Barriers to Implementing the ICU Liberation Bundle in a Single-center Pediatric and Cardiac ICUs.

Objectives: The intensive care unit (ICU) Liberation "ABCDEF" Bundle improves outcomes in critically ill adults. We aimed to identify common barriers to Pediatric ICU Liberation Bundle element implementation, to describe differences in barrier perception by ICU staff role, and to describe changes in reported barriers over time. Study Design: A 91-item survey was developed based on existing literature, iteratively revised, and tested by the PICU Liberation Committee at Seattle Children's Hospital, a tertiary free-standing academic children's hospital. Voluntary surveys were administered electronically to all ICU staff twice over 4-week periods in 2017 and 2020. Survey Respondents: 119 (2017) and 163 (2020) pediatric and cardiac ICU staff, including nurses (n = 142, 50%), respiratory therapists (RTs) (n = 46, 16%), attending and fellow physicians, hospitalists, and advanced practice providers (APPs) (n = 62, 22%), physical, occupational, and speech-language pathology therapists (n = 25, 9%), and pharmacists (n = 7, 2%). Measurements and Main Results: Respondents widely agreed that increased workload (78%-100% across roles), communication (53%-84%), and lack of RT-directed ventilator weaning (68%-88%) are barriers to implementation. Other barriers differed by role. In 2020, nurses reported liability (59%) and personal injury (68%) concerns, patient severity of illness (24%), and family discomfort with ICU liberation practices (41%) more frequently than physicians and APPs (16%, 6%, 8%, and 19%, respectively; P < .01 for all). Between 2017 and 2020, some barriers changed: RTs endorsed discomfort with early mobilization less frequently (50% vs 11%, P = .028) and nurses reported concern for patient harm less frequently (51% vs 24%, P = .004). Conclusions: Implementation efforts aimed at addressing known barriers, including educating staff on the safety of early mobility, considering respiratory therapist-directed ventilator weaning, and standardizing interdisciplinary discussion of Pediatric ICU Liberation Bundle elements, will be needed to overcome barriers and improve ICU Liberation Bundle implementation.

Global trends in pediatric burn injuries and care capacity from the World Health Organization Global Burn Registry.

Background: Burn injuries are a major cause of death and disability globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Burn Registry (GBR) to improve understanding of burn injuries worldwide, identify prevention targets, and benchmark acute care. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, risk factors, and outcomes of children with burns to demonstrate the GBR's utility and inform needs for pediatric burn prevention and treatment. Methods: We performed descriptive analyses of children age ≤ 18 years in the WHO GBR. We also described facility-level capacity. Data were extracted in September of 2021. Results: There were 8,640 pediatric and adult entries from 20 countries. Of these, 3,649 (42%) were children (0-18 years old) from predominantly middle-income countries. The mean age was 5.3 years and 60% were boys. Children aged 1-5 years comprised 62% (n = 2,279) of the cohort and mainly presented with scald burns (80%), followed by flame burns (14%). Children >5 years (n = 1,219) more frequently sustained flame burns (52%) followed by scald burns (29%). More than half of pediatric patients (52%) sustained a major burn (≥15% total body surface area) and 48% received surgery for wound closure during the index hospitalization. Older children had more severe injuries and required more surgery. Despite the frequency of severe injuries, critical care capacity was reported as "limited" for 23% of pediatric patients. Conclusions: Children represent a large proportion of people with burn injuries globally and often sustain major injuries that require critical and surgical intervention. However, critical care capacity is limited at contributing centers and should be a priority for healthcare system development to avert preventable death and disability. This analysis demonstrates that the GBR has the potential to highlight key epidemiological characteristics and hospital capacity for pediatric burn patients. To improve global burn care, addressing barriers to GBR participation in low- and low-middle-income countries would allow for greater representation from a diversity of countries, regions, and burn care facilities.

Association of Illness Severity With Family Outcomes Following Pediatric Septic Shock.

It is unknown which families are at risk for poor outcomes following a child's critical illness. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if pediatric septic shock severity is associated with caregiver distress and family dysfunction throughout the year postadmission and if caregiver outcomes are associated with child health-related quality of life (HRQL). DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Secondary analysis of the Life After Pediatric Sepsis Evaluation prospective cohort study among children less than 18 years old with community-acquired septic shock requiring vasoactive-inotropic support and invasive or noninvasive ventilation in 12 academic U.S. PICUs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Caregivers reported personal psychologic distress (Brief Symptom Inventory), family functioning (Family Assessment Device), and child HRQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Functional Status II-Revised) at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months following PICU admission. RESULTS: Among 276 caregivers, psychologic distress prevalence initially decreased then rose to 15.3%, whereas prevalence of family dysfunction increased steadily to 30.9% at 12 months. On multivariable logistic regression adjusting for patient age, medical complexity, and immunosuppression, higher Pediatric Risk of Mortality and vasoactive-inotropic scores and longer PICU and hospital stay were associated with greater caregiver distress at 1 month. Higher Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD) score, longer ventilation, and longer PICU stay were associated with lower odds of family dysfunction at 1, 3, and 6 months (average PELOD vs new 6-mo dysfunction: odds ratio [OR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.55-0.96]). Caregiver distress was associated with child HRQL decline from baseline to 1 month (OR, 2.92 [1.27-6.75]), 3 months (OR, 2.34 [1.01-5.42]), and 12 months (OR, 3.94 [1.54-10.06]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Family dysfunction becomes increasingly prevalent over the year following pediatric septic shock and is less likely following higher severity illness. Caregiver psychologic distress is associated with worse child HRQL. Both patients and families may benefit from ongoing psychosocial support following survival from pediatric septic shock.

Ethical Considerations in Ever-Expanding Utilization of ECLS: A Research Agenda.

Technological advancements and rapid expansion in the clinical use of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) across all age ranges in the last decade, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to important ethical considerations. As a costly and resource intensive therapy, ECLS is used emergently under high stakes circumstances where there is often prognostic uncertainty and risk for serious complications. To develop a research agenda to further characterize and address these ethical dilemmas, a working group of specialists in ECLS, critical care, cardiothoracic surgery, palliative care, and bioethics convened at a single pediatric academic institution over the course of 18 months. Using an iterative consensus process, research questions were selected based on: (1) frequency, (2) uniqueness to ECLS, (3) urgency, (4) feasibility to study, and (5) potential to improve patient care. Questions were categorized into broad domains of societal decision-making, bedside decision-making, patient and family communication, medical team dynamics, and research design and implementation. A deeper exploration of these ethical dilemmas through formalized research and deliberation may improve equitable access and quality of ECLS-related medical care.

Haloperidol and Quetiapine for the Treatment of ICU-Associated Delirium in a Tertiary Pediatric ICU: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients with delirium treated with haloperidol or quetiapine compared with propensity-matched, untreated patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted including PICU admissions of ≥ 48 h for children ≥ 2 months old with a positive delirium screening score (Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium ≥ 9). We generated propensity scores for the likelihood of receiving treatment with haloperidol or quetiapine using logistic regression, and matched untreated to treated patients 2:1 to compare outcomes between groups. RESULTS: Among 846 eligible admissions, 27 were treated with haloperidol or quetiapine (3.2%). Time to first delirium-free score was similar for treated versus untreated patients. Treated patients had no significant change in delirium scores following treatment, while untreated patients' scores improved after the comparable matching time. Compared with untreated patients, haloperidol-treated patients had more subsequent days of delirium and exposure to neuromuscular blockade. Quetiapine-treated patients had more subsequent days of mechanical ventilation and exposure to neuromuscular blockade, longer PICU length of stay, and higher likelihood of functional decline at ICU discharge. CONCLUSIONS: In our small, single-center study, patients treated with haloperidol or quetiapine showed no short-term improvement in delirium screening scores after starting treatment when compared with untreated, propensity score-matched patients. In addition, clinical outcomes were not improved or were worse among treated patients. A prospective trial is needed to evaluate whether antipsychotic medications benefit PICU patients with delirium.

Delirium in a Tertiary PICU: Risk Factors and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To determine risk factors and outcomes associated with delirium in PICU patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Thirty-two-bed PICU within a tertiary care academic children's hospital. PATIENTS: All children admitted to the PICU March 1, 2014, to October 1, 2016, with at least one Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium score (n = 2,446). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium score was performed twice daily as standard of care. We characterized delirium as: 1) presence of greater than or equal to 1 positive score (Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium ≥ 9) and 2) number of days with a positive score. We built multivariable logistic and linear regression models using electronic medical records data. Many patients (n = 1,538; 63%) had a short length of stay (< 48 hr). Compared with patients with length of stay greater than or equal to 48 hours, fewer experienced delirium (30% vs 69%; p < 0.0001). Among 908 patients with length of stay greater than or equal to 48 hours, presence of delirium was independently associated with age less than 2 years old, baseline cognitive dysfunction, primary diagnosis, and duration of mechanical ventilation. Benzodiazepines demonstrated a dose-response effect (odds ratio for presence of delirium, 1.8 [p = 0.03], 3.4 [p < 0.001], and 9.7 [p = 0.005] for < 25th percentile, 25-75th percentile, and > 75th percentile of total dose, vs no exposure). In terms of outcomes, presence of delirium was independently associated with increased ICU length of stay (p < 0.001), whereas days of delirium were independently associated with decline in cognitive function from ICU admission to discharge (odds ratio, 1.06; p < 0.001), increased ICU (p < 0.001), and hospital length of stay (p < 0.001). Neither delirium presence nor total days were independently associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Delirium is common in the PICU, particularly among patients with length of stay greater than or equal to 48 hours. It is independently associated with patient characteristics and PICU exposures, including benzodiazepines. The role of delirium as an independent causal factor in patient outcome requires further investigation.

Increased Stroke Risk in Children and Young Adults on Extracorporeal Life Support with Carotid Cannulation.

Patients on extracorporeal life support (ECLS) are at risk for central nervous system (CNS) injury. One potentially modifiable risk factor is site of arterial cannulation in venoarterial (VA) ECLS, as in most cases one can choose the femoral or carotid artery. There is acute alteration in cerebral blood flow with carotid cannulation, potentially increasing the risk of stroke. Children may have lower risk of stroke with carotid cannulation compared with adults because of impaired cerebral circulation with aging. Our objective was to evaluate risk of stroke with carotid versus femoral cannulation and determine whether this differs between children and adults. Using the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry, we evaluated patients 6-40 years old on VA ECLS during 2000-2012. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the relationship between location of arterial cannulation and stroke. We included an interaction term to assess whether this was modified by age. One thousand five hundred eighteen patients were included in the analysis. There was a fourfold increased odds of CNS infarct (odds ratio [OR]: 4.03; 95% CI: 2.17-7.46) with carotid cannulation. This estimate was not modified by age. There is increased likelihood of stroke with carotid cannulation in patients 6-40 years old in comparison with femoral cannulation during VA ECLS.

An Elevated Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score Is Associated With Morbidity in Infants After Congenital Heart Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate an empirically derived Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score as a clinical assessment tool for the presence and severity of Low Cardiac Output Syndrome and to examine its association with clinical outcomes in infants who underwent surgical repair or palliation of congenital heart defects. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Cardiac ICU at Seattle Children's Hospital. PATIENTS: Infants undergoing surgical repair or palliation of congenital heart defects. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Clinical and laboratory data were recorded hourly for the first 24 hours after surgery. A Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score was calculated by assigning one point for each of the following: tachycardia, oliguria, toe temperature less than 30°C, need for volume administration in excess of 30 mL/kg/d, decreased near infrared spectrometry measurements, hyperlactatemia, and need for vasoactive/inotropes in excess of milrinone at 0.5 µg/kg/min. A cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score was determined by summation of Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score on arrival to cardiac ICU, and 8, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Scores were analyzed for association with composite morbidity (prolonged mechanical ventilation, new infection, cardiopulmonary arrest, neurologic event, renal dysfunction, necrotizing enterocolitis, and extracorporeal life support) and resource utilization. Fifty-four patients were included. Overall composite morbidity was 33.3%. Median peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were higher in patients with composite morbidity (3 [2-5] vs 2 [1-3]; p = 0.003 and 8 [5-10] vs 2.5 [1-5]; p < 0.001)]. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score versus composite morbidity was 0.83, optimal cutoff of greater than 6. Patients with cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score greater than or equal to 7 had higher morbidity, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, cardiac ICU, and hospital length of stay (all p ≤ 0.001). After adjusting for other relevant variables, peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were independently associated with composite morbidity (odds ratio, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.12-5.9 and odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.09-1.67, respectively). CONCLUSION: Higher peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were associated with increased morbidity and resource utilization among infants following surgery for congenital heart defects and might be a useful tools in future cardiac intensive care research. Independent validation is required.

Pediatric Critical Care Resource Use by Children with Medical Complexity.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the proportionate use of critical care resources among children of differing medical complexity admitted to pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) in tertiary-care children's hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study of all children (<19 years of age) admitted to a pediatric ICU between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2013, in the Pediatric Health Information Systems database. Using the Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm, we assigned patients to 1 of 3 categories: no chronic disease, noncomplex chronic disease (NC-CD), or complex chronic disease (C-CD). Baseline demographics, hospital costs, and critical care resource use were stratified by these groups and summarized. RESULTS: Of 136 133 children with pediatric ICU admissions, 53.0% were categorized as having C-CD. At the individual-encounter level, ICU resource use was greatest among patients with C-CD compared with children with NC-CD and no chronic disease. At the hospital level, patients with C-CD accounted for more than 75% of all examined ICU resources, including ventilation days, ICU costs, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation runs, and arterial and central venous catheters. Children with a progressive condition accounted for one-half of all ICU resources. In contrast, patients with no chronic disease and NC-CD accounted for less than one-quarter of all ICU therapies. CONCLUSION: Children with medical complexity disproportionately use the majority of ICU resources in children's hospitals. Efforts to improve quality and provide cost-effective care should focus on this population.

A Pediatric Sedation Protocol for Mechanically Ventilated Patients Requires Sustenance Beyond Implementation.

OBJECTIVES: To reevaluate the effect of a nursing-driven sedation protocol for mechanically ventilated patients on analgesic and sedative medication dosing durations. We hypothesized that lack of continued quality improvement efforts results in increased sedation exposure, as well as mechanical ventilation days, and ICU length of stay. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental, uncontrolled before-after study. SETTING: Forty-five-bed tertiary care, medical-surgical-cardiac PICU in a metropolitan university-affiliated children's hospital. PATIENTS: Children requiring mechanical ventilation longer than 48 hours not meeting exclusion criteria. INTERVENTIONS: During both the intervention and postintervention periods, analgesia and sedation were managed by nurses following an algorithm-based sedation protocol with a targeted comfort score. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: The intervention cohort includes patients admitted during a 12-month period following initial protocol implementation in 2008-2009 (n = 166). The postintervention cohort includes patients meeting identical inclusion and exclusion criteria admitted during a 12-month period in 2012-2013 (n = 93). Median duration of total sedation days (IV plus enteral) was 5 days for the intervention period and 10 days for the postintervention period (p < 0.0001). The postintervention cohort received longer duration of mechanical ventilation (6 vs 5 d; p = 0.0026) and ICU length of stay (10 vs 8.5 d; p = 0.0543). After adjusting for illness severity and cardiac and surgical status, Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that at any point in time, patients in the postintervention group were 58% more likely to be receiving sedation (hazard ratio, 1.58; p < 0.001) and 34% more likely to remain in the ICU (hazard ratio, 1.34; p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Sedation quality improvement measures related to the use of opiate infusions, total days of sedation exposure, PICU length of stay, and mechanical ventilation days all deteriorated following initial successful implementation of a PICU sedation protocol. Implementation of a protocol alone may not lead to sustained quality improvement without routine monitoring and ongoing education to ensure effectiveness.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Values Associated With Return of Spontaneous Circulation During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

OBJECTIVE: End-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO(2)) measurements during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) reflect variable cardiac output over time, and low values have been associated with decreased survival. The goals of this review are to confirm and quantify this relationship and to determine the mean ETCO(2) value among patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) as an initial step toward determining an appropriate target for intervention during resuscitation in the absence of prospective data. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: The PubMed database was searched for the key words "end-tidal carbon dioxide" or "capnometry" or "capnography" and "resuscitation" or "return of spontaneous circulation." Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, or case-control studies that reported ETCO(2) values for participants with and without ROSC were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis. Twenty studies were included in determination of average ETCO(2) values. The mean ETCO(2) in participants with ROSC was 25.8 ± 9.8 mm Hg versus 13.1 ± 8.2 mm Hg (P = .001) in those without ROSC. Nineteen studies were included in a meta-analysis. The mean difference in ETCO(2) was 12.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval: 10.3-15.1) between participants with and without ROSC (P < .001). The mean difference in ETCO(2) was not modified by the receipt of sodium bicarbonate, uncontrolled minute ventilation, or era of resuscitation guidelines. The overall quality of data by Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria is very low, but no prospective data are currently available. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with ROSC after CPR have statistically higher levels of ETCO(2). The average ETCO(2) level of 25 mm Hg in participants with ROSC is notably higher than the threshold of 10 to 20 mm Hg to improve delivery of chest compressions. The ETCO(2) goals during resuscitation may be higher than previously suggested and further investigation into appropriate targets during resuscitation is needed to diminish morbidity and mortality after cardiorespiratory arrest.

Long-term dexmedetomidine use and safety profile among critically ill children and neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether long-term dexmedetomidine dosing is associated with lower opioid and benzodiazepine use without risk of significant hemodynamic changes and/or withdrawal. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study. SETTING: PICU, cardiovascular ICU, and neonatal ICU in a single, tertiary care, academic children's hospital. SUBJECTS: We included all patients less than or equal to 21 years old, who received dexmedetomidine for greater than or equal to 72 hours from December 2008 to December 2010 resulting in a 98-subject cohort. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: The median duration of dexmedetomidine use was 141 hours. A decrease in systolic blood pressure and heart rate was seen after initiation of dexmedetomidine. After dexmedetomidine was discontinued, systolic blood pressure was statistically significantly higher than baseline. Similarly, heart rate showed a significant increase from baseline following discontinuation of dexmedetomidine. Starting dexmedetomidine was not associated with a significant difference in the dosing of opiates or benzodiazepines. Comfort scores were significantly lower at 2 and 72 hours of dexmedetomidine infusion. After stopping dexmedetomidine, the comfort score for patients at 1 hour was statistically higher than for patients at cessation of the infusion. Thirty percent of patients who were taken off dexmedetomidine, whether weaned or abruptly stopped, had withdrawal symptoms and scores recorded with agitation, tremor, and decreased sleep being most prominent. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodynamic effects of dexmedetomidine did not limit long-term use in this diverse population. After the addition of dexmedetomidine, opioid and benzodiazepine doses did not significantly escalate, and patients were more comfortable as evidenced by decreasing comfort scores. Withdrawal from dexmedetomidine may be an issue and manifests as agitation, tremors, and decreased sleep.

Examining palliative care team involvement in automatic consultations for children on extracorporeal life support in the pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is an advanced form of life-sustaining therapy that creates stressful dilemmas for families. In May 2009, Seattle Children's Hospital (SCH) implemented a policy to involve the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) in all ECLS cases through automatic referral. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to describe PACT involvement in the context of automatic consultations for ECLS patients and their family members. METHODS: We retrospectively examined chart notes for 59 consecutive cases and used content analysis to identify themes and patterns. RESULTS: The degree of PACT involvement was related to three domains: prognostic uncertainty, medical complexity, and need for coordination of care with other services. Low PACT involvement was associated with cases with little prognostic uncertainty, little medical complexity, and minimal need for coordination of care. Medium PACT involvement was associated with two categories of cases: 1) those with a degree of medical complexity but little prognostic uncertainty; and 2) those that had a degree of prognostic uncertainty but little medical complexity. High PACT involvement had the greatest medical complexity and prognostic uncertainty, and also had those cases with a high need for coordination of care. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a framework for understanding the potential involvement of palliative care among patients receiving ECLS that explains how PACT organizes its efforts toward patients and families with the highest degree of need. Future studies should examine whether this approach is associated with improved patient and family outcomes.

Use and effect of vasopressors after pediatric traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Vasopressors are commonly used to increase mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) after traumatic brain injury (TBI), but there are few data comparing vasopressor effectiveness after pediatric TBI. OBJECTIVE: To determine which vasopressor is most effective at increasing MAP and CPP in children with moderate-to-severe TBI. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, we performed a retrospective cohort study of children 0-17 years old admitted to a level 1 trauma center (Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Wash., USA) between 2002 and 2007 with moderate-to-severe TBI who received a vasopressor to increase blood pressure. Baseline demographic and physiologic characteristics and hourly physiologic monitoring for 3 h after having started a vasopressor were abstracted. We evaluated differences in MAP and CPP at 3 h after initiation of therapy between phenylephrine, dopamine and norepinephrine among patients who did not require a second vasopressor during this time. Multivariate linear regression was used to adjust for age, gender, injury severity score and baseline MAP or CPP and to cluster by subject. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients contributed data to the entire dataset. The most common initial medication was phenylephrine for 47 (57%). Patients receiving phenylephrine and norepinephrine tended to be older than those receiving dopamine and epinephrine. Thirteen (16%) of the patients received a second vasopressor during the first 3 h of treatment and were thus not included in the regression analyses; these patients received more fluid resuscitation and exhibited higher in-hospital mortality (77 vs. 32%; p = 0.004) compared to patients receiving a single vasopressor. The norepinephrine group exhibited a 5 mm Hg higher MAP (95% CI: -4 to 13; p = 0.31) and a 12 mm Hg higher CPP (95% CI: -2 to 26; p = 0.10) than the phenylephrine group, and a 5 mm Hg higher MAP (95% CI: -4 to 15; p = 0.27) and a 10 mm Hg higher CPP (95% CI: -5 to 25; p = 0.18) than the dopamine group. However, in post hoc analysis, after adjusting for time to start of vasopressor, hypertonic saline and pentobarbital, the effect on MAP was lost, but the CPP was 8 mm Hg higher (95% CI: -10 to 25; p = 0.39) than in the phenylephrine group, and 5 mm Hg higher (95% CI: -14 to 24; p = 0.59) than in the dopamine group. CONCLUSIONS: Vasopressor use varied by age. While there was no statistically significant difference in MAP or CPP between vasopressor groups, norepinephrine was associated with a clinically relevant higher CPP and lower intracranial pressure at 3 h after start of vasopressor therapy compared to the other vasopressors examined.