Marianne Chilutti

Delayed antimicrobial therapy increases mortality and organ dysfunction duration in pediatric sepsis.

Objectives: Delayed antimicrobials are associated with poor outcomes in adult sepsis, but data relating antimicrobial timing to mortality and organ dysfunction in pediatric sepsis are limited. We sought to determine the impact of antimicrobial timing on mortality and organ dysfunction in pediatric patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Design: Retrospective observational study. Setting: PICU at an academic medical center. Patients: One hundred thirty patients treated for severe sepsis or septic shock. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: We determined if hourly delays from sepsis recognition to initial and first appropriate antimicrobial administration were associated with PICU mortality (primary outcome); ventilator-free, vasoactive-free, and organ failure–free days; and length of stay. Median time from sepsis recognition to initial antimicrobial administration was 140 minutes (interquartile range, 74–277 min) and to first appropriate antimicrobial was 177 minutes (90–550 min). An escalating risk of mortality was observed with each hour delay from sepsis recognition to antimicrobial administration, although this did not achieve significance until 3 hours. For patients with more than 3-hour delay to initial and first appropriate antimicrobials, the odds ratio for PICU mortality was 3.92 (95% CI, 1.27–12.06) and 3.59 (95% CI, 1.09–11.76), respectively. These associations persisted after adjustment for individual confounders and a propensity score analysis. After controlling for severity of illness, the odds ratio for PICU mortality increased to 4.84 (95% CI, 1.45–16.2) and 4.92 (95% CI, 1.30–18.58) for more than 3-hour delay to initial and first appropriate antimicrobials, respectively. Initial antimicrobial administration more than 3 hours was also associated with fewer organ failure–free days (16 [interquartile range, 1–23] vs 20 [interquartile range, 6–26]; p = 0.04). Conclusions: Delayed antimicrobial therapy was an independent risk factor for mortality and prolonged organ dysfunction in pediatric sepsis.

Protocolized Treatment Is Associated With Decreased Organ Dysfunction in Pediatric Severe Sepsis.

Objectives: To determine whether treatment with a protocolized sepsis guideline in the emergency department was associated with a lower burden of organ dysfunction by hospital day 2 compared to nonprotocolized usual care in pediatric patients with severe sepsis. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary care children’s hospital from January 1, 2012, to March 31, 2014. Subjects: Patients older than 56 days old and younger than 18 years old with international consensus defined severe sepsis and who required PICU admission within 24 hours of emergency department arrival were included. Measurements and Main Results: The exposure was the use of a protocolized emergency department sepsis guideline. The primary outcome was complete resolution of organ dysfunction by hospital day 2. One hundred eighty nine subjects were identified during the study period. Of these, 121 (64%) were treated with the protocolized emergency department guideline and 68 were not. There were no significant differences between the groups in age, sex, race, number of comorbid conditions, emergency department triage level, or organ dysfunction on arrival to the emergency department. Patients treated with protocolized emergency department care were more likely to be free of organ dysfunction on hospital day 2 after controlling for sex, comorbid condition, indwelling central venous catheter, Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 score, and timing of antibiotics and IV fluids (adjusted odds ratio, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.7–10.4). Conclusions: Use of a protocolized emergency department sepsis guideline was independently associated with resolution of organ dysfunction by hospital day 2 compared to nonprotocolized usual care. These data indicate that morbidity outcomes in children can be improved with the use of protocolized care.

Comparison of Two Sepsis Recognition Methods in a Pediatric Emergency Department

OBJECTIVES The objective was to compare the effectiveness of physician judgment and an electronic algorithmic alert to identify pediatric patients with severe sepsis/septic shock in a pediatric emergency department (ED). METHODS This was an observational cohort study of patients older than 56 days with fever or hypothermia. All patients were evaluated for potential sepsis in real time by the ED clinical team. An electronic algorithmic alert was retrospectively applied to identify patients with potential sepsis independent of physician judgment. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients correctly identified with severe sepsis/septic shock defined by consensus criteria. Test characteristics were determined and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were compared. RESULTS Of 19,524 eligible patient visits, 88 patients developed consensus-confirmed severe sepsis or septic shock. Physician judgment identified 159 and the algorithmic alert identified 3,301 patients with potential sepsis. Physician judgment had sensitivity of 72.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 72.1% to 73.4%) and specificity of 99.5% (95% CI = 99.4% to 99.6%); the algorithmic alert had sensitivity of 92.1% (95% CI = 91.7% to 92.4%) and specificity of 83.4% (95% CI = 82.9% to 83.9%) for severe sepsis/septic shock. There was no significant difference in the area under the ROC curve for physician judgment (0.86, 95% CI = 0.81 to 0.91) or the algorithm (0.88, 95% CI = 0.85 to 0.91; p = 0.54). A combination method using either positive physician judgment or an algorithmic alert improved sensitivity to 96.6% and specificity to 83.3%. A sequential approach, in which positive identification by the algorithmic alert was then confirmed by physician judgment, achieved 68.2% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity. Positive and negative predictive values for physician judgment versus algorithmic alert were 40.3% versus 2.5% and 99.88% versus 99.96%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The electronic algorithmic alert was more sensitive but less specific than physician judgment for recognition of pediatric severe sepsis and septic shock. These findings can help to guide institutions in selecting pediatric sepsis recognition methods based on institutional needs and priorities.

Overweight and Obesity in Pediatric Secondary Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome

PURPOSE To examine the clinical, demographic, and anthropometric patient characteristics of secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome in children and adolescents based on the recently revised diagnostic criteria. DESIGN Retrospective observational case series. METHODS Patients seen at a tertiary childrens hospital for pseudotumor cerebri syndrome were classified as having either primary idiopathic (n = 59) or secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (n = 16), as rigorously defined by recently revised diagnostic criteria. Outcomes included body mass index Z-scores (BMI-Z), height and weight Z-scores, demographics, and clinical features at presentation, such as headache, sixth nerve palsy, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure. RESULTS In this cohort, the associated conditions and exposures seen in definite secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome included tetracycline-class antibiotics (n = 11), chronic kidney disease (n = 3), withdrawal from chronic glucocorticoids (n = 1), and lithium (n = 1). Other associations observed in the possible secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome group included Down syndrome, vitamin A derivatives, and growth hormone. In comparison with primary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome, definite secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome patients were on average older (15.0 vs 11.6 years; P = .003, Mann-Whitney test). According to US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classifications, 79% of children with secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome were either overweight or obese (36% overweight [n = 5] and 43% obese [n = 6]), as compared to 32% nationally. CONCLUSIONS Even when a potential inciting exposure is identified for pediatric pseudotumor cerebri syndrome, the possible contribution of overweight and obesity should be considered.

Association of Delayed Antimicrobial Therapy with One-Year Mortality in Pediatric Sepsis

Objective: Delayed antimicrobial therapy in sepsis is associated with increased hospital mortality, but the impact of antimicrobial timing on long-term outcomes is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that hourly delays to antimicrobial therapy are associated with 1-year mortality in pediatric severe sepsis. Design: Retrospective observational study. Setting: Quaternary academic pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) from February 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. Patients: One hundred sixty patients aged ⩽21 years treated for severe sepsis. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: We tested the association of hourly delays from sepsis recognition to antimicrobial administration with 1-year mortality using multivariable Cox and logistic regression. Overall 1-year mortality was 24% (39 patients), of whom 46% died after index PICU discharge. Median time from sepsis recognition to antimicrobial therapy was 137 min (IQR 65–287). After adjusting for severity of illness and comorbid conditions, hourly delays up to 3 h were not associated with 1-year mortality. However, increased 1-year mortality was evident in patients who received antimicrobials ⩽1 h (aOR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2, 11.7) or >3 h (aOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3, 9.8) compared with patients who received antimicrobials within 1 to 3 h from sepsis recognition. For the subset of patients who survived index PICU admission, antimicrobial therapy ⩽1 h was also associated with increased 1-year mortality (aOR 5.5, 95% CI 1.1, 27.4), while antimicrobial therapy >3 h was not associated with 1-year mortality (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 0.5, 11.0). Conclusions: Hourly delays to antimicrobial therapy, up to 3 h, were not associated with 1-year mortality in pediatric severe sepsis in this study. The finding that antimicrobial therapy ⩽1 h from sepsis recognition was associated with increased 1-year mortality should be regarded as hypothesis-generating for future studies.

Effect of the Procalcitonin Assay on Antibiotic Use in Critically Ill Children

We retrospectively studied the effect of introducing procalcitonin into clinical practice on antibiotic use within a large academic pediatric intensive care unit. In the absence of a standardized algorithm, availability of the procalcitonin assay did not reduce the frequency of antibiotic initiations or the continuation of antibiotics for greater than 72 hours.

Improving allergy office scheduling increases patient follow up and reduces asthma readmission after pediatric asthma hospitalization

BACKGROUND Pediatric asthma is a major contributor to emergency room utilization and hospital readmission rates. OBJECTIVE To develop an allergy department‒based intervention to improve follow-up appointment scheduling processes for pediatric asthma patients after discharge for asthma exacerbation. METHODS This quality improvement study was conducted in the allergy clinic of an urban, tertiary childrens hospital. Children receiving subspecialty allergy care for asthma were included into the intervention group during the intervention period. The quality improvement intervention consisted of 3 attempts by telephone to reach the family to schedule the follow-up appointment. If this was unsuccessful or if the appointment was not kept, then a reminder letter was sent to the family. The primary outcome of interest in this study was the percent of postdischarge follow-up appointments scheduled within 30 days of discharge. Secondary outcomes measured were the percent of allergy appointments attended within 30 days of discharge and the 30-day hospital readmission rate. RESULTS Demographics did not differ significantly between the intervention and baseline preintervention year. The initial baseline scheduled allergy follow-up visit rate was 48.8 ± 13.3% of patients discharged per month. This increased to an overall rate of 75.7 ± 20.1% patients scheduling allergy follow-up within 30 days of discharge during the intervention year. We also observed a significant increase in attended allergy visits 30 days postdischarge from 35.5 ± 15.6% in year 1 to 53.9 ± 25.5% during the intervention year and a significant decrease in the 30-day readmission rate on the allergy service. CONCLUSION These data suggests that minor changes in allergy practice organization can significantly affect posthospitalization follow-up rates and decrease asthma readmission rates.