Joe Brierley

Distinct Hemodynamic Patterns of Septic Shock at Presentation to Pediatric Intensive Care

OBJECTIVE. Early aggressive resuscitation is accepted best practice for severe pediatric sepsis. Targeting of therapy to individual hemodynamic patterns is recommended, but assessment of patterns is difficult early in the disease process. New technologies enabling earlier hemodynamic assessment in shock may inform choices for vasoactive drugs in fluid-resistant cases. METHODS. This was a prospective observational study of 30 children with suspected fluid-resistant septic shock (minimum: 40 mL/kg) admitted to the PICU of a tertiary care childrens hospital between July 2004 and July 2005. Children were classified according to admission diagnosis (community-acquired sepsis or central venous catheter-associated infection) and assessed within 4 hours after the onset of shock with a noninvasive cardiac output device. Cardiac index and systemic vascular resistance index were measured for all patients. Central venous oxygen saturation was measured for patients with accessible central venous lines at the time of hemodynamic measurements (typically at the superior vena cava-right atrium junction). RESULTS. Fluid-resistant septic shock secondary to central venous catheter-associated infection was typically “warm shock” (15 of 16 patients; 94%), with high cardiac index and low systemic vascular resistance index. In contrast, this pattern was rarely seen in community-acquired sepsis (2 of 14 patients; 14%), where a normal or low cardiac index was predominant. CONCLUSIONS. The hemodynamic patterns of fluid-resistant septic shock by the time children present to the PICU are distinct, depending on cause, with little overlap. If these findings can be reproduced, then targeting the choice of first-line vasoactive infusions in fluid-resistant shock (vasopressors for central venous catheter-associated infections and inotropes for community-acquired sepsis) should be considered.

Impact of Rapid Leukodepletion on the Outcome of Severe Clinical Pertussis in Young Infants

OBJECTIVES: Bordetella pertussis is a common, underrecognized, and vaccine-preventable cause of critical illness with a high mortality in infants worldwide. Patients with severe cases present with extreme leukocytosis and develop refractory hypoxemia and pulmonary hypertension that is unresponsive to maximal intensive care. This may reflect a hyperviscosity syndrome from the raised white blood cell (WBC) count. Case reports suggest improved outcomes with exchange transfusion to reduce the WBC count. Our objective was to quantify possible benefits of aggressive leukodepletion. METHODS: We, as a regional PICU and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation referral center, adopted a strategy of aggressive leukodepletion in January 2005. The impact of this strategy on crude and case mix–adjusted survival of all infants who were critically ill with B pertussis were compared with control subjects from January 2001 to December 2004 and Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation registry data. RESULTS: Nineteen infants (7 [37%] boys) received intensive care for B pertussis from 2001 to 2009. Admission WBC counts were equivalent in 2 time periods: 2001–2004 (mean: 52 000/μL) and 2005–2009 (mean: 75 000/μL). In 2001–2004, 5 (55%) of 9 patients survived the ICU. Between 2005 and 2009, 9 (90%) of 10 patients survived. When case-mix adjustment for age, WBC count, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation referral were considered, the 2001–2004 predicted survival (4.4 [49%] of 9.0) was equivalent to the observed mortality (4.0 [44%] of 9.0). Between 2005 and 2009, observed mortality (1.0 [10%] of 10.0) was significantly better than predicted (4.7 [47%] of 10.0). CONCLUSIONS: Leukodepletion should be considered in critically ill infants with B pertussis and leukocytosis.

Hypercapnia and Acidosis During Open and Thoracoscopic Repair of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and Esophageal Atresia Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effect of thoracoscopy in neonates on intraoperative arterial blood gases, compared with open surgery. Background: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) can be repaired thoracoscopically, but this may cause hypercapnia and acidosis, which are potentially harmful. Methods: This was a pilot randomized controlled trial. The target number of 20 neonates (weight > 1.6 kg) were randomized to either open (5 CDH, 5 EA/TEF) or thoracoscopic (5 CDH, 5 EA/TEF) repair. Arterial blood gases were measured every 30 minutes intraoperatively, and compared by multilevel modeling, presented as mean and difference (95% confidence interval) from these predictions. Results: Overall, the intraoperative PaCO2 was 61 mm Hg in open and 83 mm Hg [difference 22 mm Hg (2 to 42); P = 0.036] in thoracoscopy and the pH was 7.24 in open and 7.13 [difference −0.11 (−0.20 to −0.01); P = 0.025] in thoracoscopy. The duration of hypercapnia and acidosis was longer in thoracoscopy compared with that in open. For patients with CDH, thoracoscopy was associated with a significant increase in intraoperative hypercapnia [open 68 mm Hg; thoracoscopy 96 mm Hg; difference 28 mm Hg (8 to 48); P = 0.008] and severe acidosis [open 7.21; thoracoscopy 7.08; difference −0.13 (−0.24 to −0.02); P = 0.018]. No significant difference in PaCO2, pH, or PaO2 was observed in patients undergoing thoracoscopic repair of EA/TEF. Conclusions: This pilot randomized controlled trial shows that thoracoscopic repair of CDH is associated with prolonged and severe intraoperative hypercapnia and acidosis, compared with open surgery. These findings do not support the use of thoracoscopy with CO2 insufflation and conventional ventilation for the repair of CDH, calling into question the safety of this practice. The effect of thoracoscopy on blood gases during repair of EA/TEF in neonates requires further evaluation. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01467245)

Making decisions to limit treatment in life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in children: a framework for practice

It is now more than 18 years since the late Professor David Baum wrote the foreword to the first Withholding and Withdrawing Life Saving Treatment in Children document. Since then the practice of paediatrics has changed radically. We are now seeing increased survival rates for infants born between 22 and 25 weeks gestation, new gene therapies stretching the boundaries of possibility, and advances in paediatric surgical techniques unimaginable in the last millennium. Against this backdrop, we are in an era of ubiquitous access to the internet and widespread use of social media. Children, young people, their parents and carers have very different knowledge and expectations of a condition and its treatment. Children and young people rightly expect to be fully involved in decisions about their treatment options wherever this is feasible and we must be able to communicate those options clearly and honestly. In this extraordinary world of medical miracles, one thing has not changed; the complexity, challenge and pain of that most difficult of decisions: is the treatment we are providing no longer in the best interests of the child? There is no technology to help us here—only guidance, discussion, and adequate time and information for truly shared decision making. Our commitment to the childs best interests must start before birth and continue through to palliative and end of life care. Even after death, a duty to provide bereavement support for parents and siblings is the natural conclusion to the difficult decisions we have made with them in the preceding weeks and months. This latest guidance on arguably the most difficult aspect of paediatric care has updated the decision making framework and incorporated more extensive advice on the direct involvement of children and young people. It also takes account of the broader possibilities flowing from developments in paediatric palliative care. This …

Should religious beliefs be allowed to stonewall a secular approach to withdrawing and withholding treatment in children

Religion is an important element of end-of-life care on the paediatric intensive care unit with religious belief providing support for many families and for some staff. However, religious claims used by families to challenge cessation of aggressive therapies considered futile and burdensome by a wide range of medical and lay people can cause considerable problems and be very difficult to resolve. While it is vital to support families in such difficult times, we are increasingly concerned that deeply held belief in religion can lead to children being potentially subjected to burdensome care in expectation of ‘miraculous’ intervention. We reviewed cases involving end-of-life decisions over a 3-year period. In 186 of 203 cases in which withdrawal or limitation of invasive therapy was recommended, agreement was achieved. However, in the 17 remaining cases extended discussions with medical teams and local support mechanisms did not lead to resolution. Of these cases, 11 (65%) involved explicit religious claims that intensive care should not be stopped due to expectation of divine intervention and complete cure together with conviction that overly pessimistic medical predictions were wrong. The distribution of the religions included Protestant, Muslim, Jewish and Roman Catholic groups. Five of the 11 cases were resolved after meeting religious community leaders; one child had intensive care withdrawn following a High Court order, and in the remaining five, all Christian, no resolution was possible due to expressed expectations that a ‘miracle’ would happen.

Guidance on clinical research involving infants, children and young people: an update for researchers and research ethics committees

A summary of updated practical guidance on ethical issues in relation to research involving children.

Emergency research in children: options for ethical recruitment

The paucity of research data to guide current paediatric practice has led to children being termed therapeutic orphans. This difficulty is especially pertinent to research in emergency situations, such as acute resuscitation or critical care, where accepted ethical standards for overall research, have historically created practical difficulties for researchers. The welcome establishment of organisations to support UK paediatric research is helping to ensure safer and more effective medications for children, however as the balance between protection and access at the heart of the paediatric research ethical debate shifts to ever increasing access for researchers to children, it remains crucial to ensure the protection for these vulnerable participants. The fundamental protection for research subjects, namely their full informed consent before any recruitment, is not tenable in true emergency situations and so other approaches are warranted if standards are to be improved by human subjects research in such areas. Proxy, deferred and retrospective consent have all been advocated as solutions to this difficulty and this paper explores the ethical justification for these approaches and their utility in safeguarding children and families in emergency situations when traditional informed consent, as currently defined, cannot be obtained in the necessary time frame to enable research.

The potential for neonatal organ donation in a children's hospital

Objective Neonatal organ donation does not occur in the UK. Unlike in other European countries, Australasia and the USA death verification/certification standards effectively prohibit use of neurological criteria for diagnosing death in infants between 37 weeks’ gestation and 2 months of age and therefore donation after neurological determination of death. Neonatal donation after circulatory definition of death is also possible but is not currently undertaken. There is currently no specific information about the potential neonatal organ donation in the UK; this study provides this in one tertiary childrens hospital. Design Retrospective mortality database, clinical document database and patient notes review. Setting Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care in a tertiary childrens hospital. Patients Infants dying between 37 weeks’ gestation and 2 months of age between 1 January 2006 and 31 October 2012. Potential assessed using current UK guidelines for older children and neonatal criteria elsewhere. Results 84 infants died with 45 (54%) identified as potential donors. 34 (40%) were identified as potential donors after circulatory definition of death and 11 (13%) were identified as being theoretical potential donors after neurological determination of death. 10 (12%) were identified as unlikely donors due to relative contraindications and 39 (46%) were definitely not potential donors. Conclusions With around 60 paediatric organ donors in the UK annually, there does appear significant potential for donation within the neonatal population. Reconsideration of current infant brain stem death guidelines is required to allow parents the opportunity of donation after neurological determination of death, together with mandatory training in organ donation for neonatal teams, which will also facilitate donation after circulatory definition of death.

Reducing VAP by instituting a care bundle using improvement methodology in a UK Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

Preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the Department of Health Saving Lives initiatives. We describe the institution of a purpose-designed bundle of care in a tertiary paediatric ICU based on the available literature as part of our hospital’s transformation project into reducing health-care-associated infection. A nurse-led VAP surveillance programme is in place, and we used this to compare VAP incidence before and after commencing a series of care measures aimed at reducing VAP as part of an overall drive for patient safety. The diagnostic criteria, surveillance methods and rates of VAP (5.6 per 1,000 ventilator days) have been previously reported. Nurse educators were added to the original core group, as a key feature is buy in from nursing staff. All nursing staff had multiple training opportunities, and VAP project education became a routine part of staff induction. The major features of the bundle of care were (1) elevation of bed to maximum (target, 45°; however, no beds currently permit this so achieved 20–30°), (2) mouth care using chlorhexidine or tooth brushing, (3) clean suctioning practice, (4) all patients not on full feeds commenced on ranitidine and (5) 4-hourly documentation. Compliance with these aspects was monitored. After the institution of the bundle, no paediatric case of VAP was recorded over a 12-month period, according to a priori definitions. One adult patient had a confirmed VAP over the same time interval. A paediatric VAP bundle was associated with reduced VAP on a UK PICU.

Organ donation from children: time for legal, ethical and cultural change.

Successful transplantation has lead to increasing need for donated organs from children; however, contemporaneously decreased brain‐death rates means optimization of donation processes is crucial. Although excellent palliative care and organ donation are compatible, discrepancies exist both between and within European countries in abilities to offer families donation opportunities. Change will require address of legal, ethical and cultural barriers, and this review aims to explore such changes pertinent to both dead and living organ donation.