Dying in the intensive care unit: collaborative multicenter study about forgoing life-sustaining treatment in Argentine pediatric intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: Describe modes of death and factors involved in decision-making together with life support limitation (LSL) procedures. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive, longitudinal, and noninterventional study. SETTING: Sixteen pediatric intensive care units in Argentina. PATIENTS: Every patient who died during a 1-yr period was included. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Age, sex, length of stay (LOS), primary and admission diagnosis, underlying chronic disease (CD), postoperative condition (PO). Deaths were classified in four groups: a) failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); b) do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status; c) withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment (WH/WD); and d) brain death (BD). Justifications were classified as a) imminent death; b) poor long-term prognosis; c) poor quality of life; and d) family request. Data were collected from medical records and interviews with the attending physicians. Descriptive statistics were performed. Differences among groups were analyzed through contingency tables and analysis of variance when required. Relative risks and confidence intervals of variables potentially related to LSL were analyzed, and logistic regression was performed. There were 6358 admissions and 457 deaths. CPR was performed in 52%, DNR in 16%, WH/WD in 20%, and BD in 11% of dead patients. BD patients were older, LOS and CD prevalence were higher in the WH/WD group. Inotropic drugs were the most frequently limited treatment in 110 patients (55%), CPR in 72 (35.6%), and mechanical ventilation in 63 (31%). Imminent death was the most frequently reported justification for LSL. CD and more staff were associated with a higher probability of LSL. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the patients in Argentina underwent CPR before their death. We have a high proportion of patients with CD (65%) and low BD diagnosis. PO condition decreased LSL probability in chronically ill patients. Do-not-resuscitate orders and withholding new treatments were the most common LSL. Active withdrawal was exceptional. The Ethics Committee was consulted in 5% of the LSL population.

Síndrome pulmonar por hantavirus ¿Cómo la peste? / Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

La enfermedad grave por Hantavirus se caracteriza por fiebre hemorrágica y rápido progreso, en menos de 24 horas al shock, con grave compromiso cardiopulmonar.Presentamos una paciente que ingresó a la UCIP proveniente del Gran Buenos Aires y destacamos los elementos clínicos y bioquímicos que deben sugerir la sospecha diagnóstica especialmente cuando provenga de zonas endémicas.Se trataba de una niña de 11 años de edad, previamente sana, que había comenzado con síndrome febril progresivo 4 días antes de su ingreso, a lo que se agregaron vómitos y diarrea.Frente a la rápida descompensación respiratoria y hemodinámica ingresó a UCIP, donde se diagnosticóshock hipovolémico hemorrágico, edema pulmonar agudo e insuficiencia respiratoria aguda, que requirieron altos parámetros de asistencia respiratoria mecánica y elevadas dosis de inotrópicos.Debido a las características referidas de evolución hiperaguda, la extracción de abundante líquido por tubo endotraqueal, la hipoalbuminemia y el marcado aumento de LDH en una niña previamente sana, se sospechó etiología infecciosa de origen no habitualdescartándose leptospirosis, Mycoplasma pneumoniaey gérmenes comunes. Se confirmó el diagnóstico de Hantavirus tipo Andes a través de Ig G y M.Presentó estado crítico los primeros 3 días y luego tuvo buena evolución a pesar de manifestar parámetrosde mal pronóstico. En la actualidad se encuentra libre de secuelas