Health-Related Quality of Life After Community-Acquired Septic Shock in Children With Preexisting Severe Developmental Disabilities

The burden and contemporary epidemiology of sepsis in children

Sepsis is a dysregulated host response to infection that leads to life-threatening organ dysfunction. Half of the 50 million people affected by sepsis globally every year are neonates and children younger than 19 years. This burden on the paediatric population translates into a disproportionate impact on global child health in terms of years of life lost, morbidity, and lost opportunities for children to reach their developmental potential. This Series on paediatric sepsis presents the current state of diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in children, and maps the challenges in alleviating the burden on children, their families, and society. Drawing on diverse experience and multidisciplinary expertise, we offer a roadmap to improving outcomes for children with sepsis. This first paper of the Series is a narrative review of the burden of paediatric sepsis from low-income to high-income settings. Advances towards improved operationalisation of paediatric sepsis across all age groups have facilitated more standardised assessment of the Global Burden of Disease estimates of the impact of sepsis on child health, and these estimates are expected to gain further precision with the roll out of the new Phoenix criteria for sepsis. Sepsis remains one of the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality, with immense direct and indirect societal costs. Although substantial regional differences persist in relation to incidence, microbiological epidemiology, and outcomes, these cannot be explained by differences in income level alone. Recent insights into post-discharge sequelae after paediatric sepsis, ranging from late mortality and persistent neurodevelopmental impairment to reduced health-related quality of life, show how common post-sepsis syndrome is in children. Targeting sepsis as a key contributor to poor health outcomes in children is therefore an essential component of efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Long-term outcomes after paediatric sepsis: A narrative review

OBJECTIVES

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality in the paediatric population. However, knowledge is limited around morbidity in childhood sepsis survivors. The aim of this review is to identify and critically appraise the evidence for long-term outcomes in paediatric survivors of sepsis using the Post Intensive Care Syndrome - paediatrics (PICS-p) framework.

METHODS

A search for studies was undertaken in the electronic databases PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature from 2010. Criteria for inclusion are as follows: participants >28 d adjusted age, diagnosed with sepsis, and follow-up after hospital discharge using a validated outcome measure. The PICS-p subdomains (cognitive, physical, emotional, and social) guided thematic synthesis of current literature. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

In total, nine studies, involving 2136 children, using 13 different outcome measures were included in the review. Mean follow-up time was 28 d after hospital discharge with a range of 7 d to 12 m across the PICS-p domains. Physical functioning was the most examined domain explored in six studies that used four outcome measures. Morbidity in physical, cognitive, and emotional domains was still evident at 9-12 m. No literature identified explored social health.

CONCLUSION(S)

Overall, we identified a wide range of measures, administered at various time points in studies of sepsis survivorship in childhood. Variation in follow-up timepoints, validated tools, and restricted outcome measures highlighted the lack in understanding of this priority area. Furthermore, long-term outcome research and a cohesive understanding across all the PICS-p domains are needed to better understand this population.

REGISTRATION

Not registered.

Long-term outcomes after paediatric sepsis (LOTUS)-A protocol for an Australian cohort study

BACKGROUND

Globally, sepsis has been identified as one of the leading causes of preventable childhood mortality and morbidity. Previous studies on intensive care patients estimated that approximately 30% of children with sepsis experience some form of disability at discharge. Development of care has seen growing numbers of children treated for sepsis not requiring a PICU admission; however, outcomes in this population are yet to be understood. Further focus is required to understand sepsis survivorship across the wider population to address knowledge gaps and morbidity burden in the broader surviving population.

AIMS

To assess the cognitive, physical, emotional and social health of children surviving sepsis 2 years after hospital discharge.

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective, observational cohort study.

RESULTS

Two hundred and thirty-two children will be screened, 2 years after their hospital admission, and approached for participation in this study. Children who are <18 years of age at follow-up, treated for sepsis-related organ dysfunction or septic shock in Queensland between October 2018 and December 2019, will be included. Children who are deceased at follow-up, under care of the state, or require English interpreters will be excluded from participation. Data will be collected through an online follow-up survey comprising validated caregiver-reported questionnaires covering the four Post Intensive Care Syndrome-paediatrics (PICS-p) domains (cognitive, physical, emotional and social health; Manning et al. Pediatr Crit Care Med, 2018, 19, 298-300). The primary outcome is an adaptive behaviour of the participants assessed using the Vinelands-3 tool. Secondary outcomes will include neurodevelopment, quality of life, child distress, overall function, executive function, caregiver's distress and caregiver's stress. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's exact test/chi-squared tests will be used for statistical analyses. No adjustments will be made for multiple comparisons but it is acknowledged that comparisons made in this study are exploratory.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

With more children surviving sepsis, there is a need for a more comprehensive assessment of patient and family outcomes to allow support structures for families leaving the hospital after sepsis. This study is expected to inform clinicians and stakeholders of patient and family well-being after sepsis survivorship.

Predicting functional and quality-of-life outcomes following pediatric sepsis: performance of PRISM-III and PELOD-2

BACKGROUND

Illness severity scores predict mortality following pediatric critical illness. Given declining PICU mortality, we assessed the ability of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality-III (PRISM) and Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 (PELOD) scores to predict morbidity outcomes.

METHODS

Among 359 survivors <18 years in the Life After Pediatric Sepsis Evaluation multicenter prospective cohort study, we assessed functional morbidity at hospital discharge (Functional Status Scale increase ≥3 points from baseline) and health-related quality of life (HRQL; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory or Functional Status II-R) deterioration >25% from baseline at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-admission. We determined discrimination of admission PRISM and admission, maximum, and cumulative 28-day PELOD with functional and HRQL morbidity at each timepoint.

RESULTS

Cumulative PELOD provided the best discrimination of discharge functional morbidity (area under the receive operating characteristics curve [AUROC] 0.81, 95% CI 0.76-0.87) and 3-month HRQL deterioration (AUROC 0.71, 95% CI 0.61-0.81). Prediction was inferior for admission PRISM and PELOD and for 6- and 12-month HRQL assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

Illness severity scores have a good prediction of early functional morbidity but a more limited ability to predict longer-term HRQL. Identification of factors beyond illness severity that contribute to HRQL outcomes may offer opportunities for intervention to improve outcomes.

IMPACT

Illness severity scores are commonly used for mortality prediction and risk stratification in pediatric critical care research, quality improvement, and resource allocation algorithms. Prediction of morbidity rather than mortality may be beneficial given declining pediatric intensive care unit mortality. The PRISM and PELOD scores have moderate to good ability to predict new functional morbidity at hospital discharge following pediatric septic shock but limited ability to predict health-related quality of life outcomes in the year following PICU admission. Further research is needed to identify additional factors beyond illness severity that may impact post-discharge health-related quality of life.

Neurocognitive functioning and health-related quality of life of children after pediatric intensive care admission: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

This study systematically reviewed recent findings on neurocognitive functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children after pediatric intensive care unit admission (PICU).

DATA SOURCES

Electronic databases searched included Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Google Scholar. The search was limited to studies published in the last five years (2015-2019).

STUDY SELECTION

Original studies assessing neurocognitive functioning or HRQoL in children who were previously admitted to the PICU were included in this systematic review.

DATA EXTRACTION

Of the 3649 identified studies, 299 met the inclusion criteria based on title abstract screening. After full-text screening, 75 articles were included in the qualitative data reviewing: 38 on neurocognitive functioning, 33 on HRQoL, and 4 on both outcomes.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Studies examining neurocognitive functioning found overall worse scores for general intellectual functioning, attention, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning. Studies investigating HRQoL found overall worse scores for both physical and psychosocial HRQoL. On the short term (≤ 12 months), most studies reported HRQoL impairments, whereas in some long-term studies HRQoL normalized. The effectiveness of the few intervention studies during and after PICU admission on long-term outcomes varied.

CONCLUSIONS

PICU survivors have lower scores for neurocognitive functioning and HRQoL than children from the general population. A structured follow-up program after a PICU admission is needed to identify those children and parents who are at risk. However, more research is needed into testing interventions in randomized controlled trials aiming on preventing or improving impairments in critically ill children during and after PICU admission.

The Child With Severe Chronic Illness in the ICU: A Concise Review

OBJECTIVES

Children with severe chronic illness are a prevalent, impactful, vulnerable group in PICUs, whose needs are insufficiently met by transitory care models and a narrow focus on acute care needs. Thus, we sought to provide a concise synthetic review of published literature relevant to them and a compilation of strategies to address their distinctive needs.

DATA SOURCES

English language articles were identified in MEDLINE using a variety of phrases related to children with chronic conditions, prolonged admissions, resource utilization, mortality, morbidity, continuity of care, palliative care, and other critical care topics. Bibliographies were also reviewed.

STUDY SELECTION

Original articles, review articles, and commentaries were considered.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data from relevant articles were reviewed, summarized, and integrated into a narrative synthetic review.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Children with serious chronic conditions are a heterogeneous group who are growing in numbers and complexity, partly due to successes of critical care. Because of their prevalence, prolonged stays, readmissions, and other resource use, they disproportionately impact PICUs. Often more than other patients, critical illness can substantially negatively affect these children and their families, physically and psychosocially. Critical care approaches narrowly focused on acute care and transitory/rotating care models exacerbate these problems and contribute to ineffective communication and information sharing, impaired relationships, subpar and untimely decision-making, patient/family dissatisfaction, and moral distress in providers. Strategies to mitigate these effects and address these patients' distinctive needs include improving continuity and communication, primary and secondary palliative care, and involvement of families. However, there are limited outcome data for most of these strategies and little consensus on which outcomes should be measured.

CONCLUSIONS

The future of pediatric critical care medicine is intertwined with that of children with serious chronic illness. More concerted efforts are needed to address their distinctive needs and study the effectiveness of strategies to do so.

Health-Related Quality of Life Following Delirium in the PICU

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether delirium during pediatric critical illness is associated with post-discharge health-related quality of life.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Academic tertiary care center.

PATIENTS

Children 1 month to 18 years old admitted to the PICU or cardiac ICU and enrolled in the Seattle Children's Hospital Outcomes Assessment Program.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Delirium was assessed twice daily using the Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium; a score greater than or equal to 9 (with fluctuating level of arousal for children with developmental disability) indicated delirium. Baseline (pre-admission) and post-discharge health-related quality of life were assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (Mapi Research Trust, Lyon, France) or the Functional Status II-R (for children with developmental disability). Among 534 patients, delirium was common (44%), as was clinically important decline in health-related quality of life (≥ 4.5 points) from baseline to follow-up (22%), measured at median 6.6 weeks post-hospital discharge (interquartile range, 5.1-8.5). On univariate analysis, children with delirium had similar likelihood of health-related quality of life decline compared with those without (25.5% vs 19.7%; p = 0.1). Using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, medical complexity, predicted risk of mortality, admission diagnosis, receipt of noninvasive ventilation, hospital length of stay, time to follow-up, and parent age, delirium was independently associated with health-related quality of life decline among children assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (adjusted odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5). Among children evaluated with the Functional Status II-R, delirium was not independently associated with health-related quality of life decline (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.6-3.2). In both groups, longer time to follow-up was also independently associated with improvements in health-related quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Delirium during the ICU stay is associated with decline in health-related quality of life from baseline to post-discharge follow-up among children assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, who were generally characterized by normal baseline cognitive function and less medical comorbidity. This association was not present among children assessed by the Functional Status II-R, potentially due to their higher overall risk of health-related quality of life decline, or other clinical differences that modify the effects of delirium in this group.

Outcome Measures Following Critical Illness in Children With Disabilities: A Scoping Review

Children with disabilities compose a substantial portion of admissions and bed-days in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and often experience readmissions over time. Impacts of a PICU admission on post-discharge health status may be difficult to distinguish from pre-existing disability in this population. Efforts to standardize outcome measures used for children with disabilities may help identify morbidities associated with PICU hospitalizations. Although a scoping review of outcome measures to assess children after episodes of critical illness has recently been published, it is not known to what extent these measures are appropriate for use in children with disabilities. This limits our ability to effectively measure long-term outcomes following critical illness in this important patient population. Through mixed methodology of scoping review and multi-stakeholder consensus, we aimed to identify and describe instruments previously utilized for this purpose and to explore additional tools for consideration. This yielded 51 measures across a variety of domains that have been utilized in the PICU setting and may be appropriate for use in children with disabilities. We describe characteristics of these instruments, including the type of developmental domains assessed, availability of population data, validation and considerations regarding administration in children with disabilities, and ease of availability of the instrument to researchers. Additionally, we suggest needed alterations or accommodations for these instruments to augment their utility in these populations, and highlight areas for future instrument development.

Functional Outcomes and Morbidity in Pediatric Sepsis Survivors: A Tanzanian Experience

Pediatric sepsis remains a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality, disproportionately affecting resource-limited settings. As more patients survive, it is paramount that we improve our understanding of post-sepsis morbidity and its impact on functional outcomes. The functional status scale (FSS) is a pediatric validated outcome measure quantifying functional impairment, previously demonstrating decreased function following critical illnesses, including sepsis, in resource-rich settings. However, functional outcomes utilizing the FSS in pediatric sepsis survivors have never been studied in resource-limited settings or in non-critically ill septic children. In a Tanzanian cohort of pediatric sepsis patients, we aimed to evaluate morbidity associated with an acute septic episode using the FSS modified for resource-limited settings. This was a prospective cohort study at an urban referral hospital in Tanzania, including children with sepsis aged 28 days to 14 years old over a 12-month period. The FSS was adapted to the site's available resources. Functional status scale scores were obtained by interviewing guardians both at the time of presentation to determine the child's baseline and at 28-day follow-up. The primary outcome was "decline in functional status," as defined by a change in FSS score of at least 3. In this cohort, 4.3% of the 1,359 surviving children completing 28-day follow-up had a "decline in functional status." Conversely, 13.8% of guardians reported that their child was not yet back to their pre-illness state. Three-quarters of children reported as not fully recovered were not identified via the FSS as having a decline in functional status. In our cohort of pediatric sepsis patients, we identified a low rate of decline in functional status when using the FSS adapted for resource-limited settings. A higher proportion of children were subjectively identified as not being recovered to baseline. This suggests that the FSS has limitations in this population, despite being adapted for resource-limited settings. Next steps include developing and validating a further revised FSS to better capture patients identified as not recovered but missed by the current FSS.

Designing Support Structures Post Sepsis in Children: Perspectives of the Queensland Paediatric Sepsis Program

Introduction: Paediatric post sepsis syndrome is poorly defined and causes physical, neurocognitive, psychosocial morbidity, and family dysfunction. Families of sepsis survivors report unmet needs during care. Worldwide, the provision of post sepsis care is in its infancy with limited evidence to design clinical support pathways. Perspective: The Queensland Paediatric Sepsis Program (QPSP) developed a family support structure (FSS) to improve care during all stages of childhood sepsis. It was designed in partnership with consumers guided by information from consumers and it is partly delivered by consumers. Key areas include online, multimodal education for families and the ability to connect with other families affected by sepsis. The FSS is delivered by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) acting with clinicians local to the child. Families can join the FSS registry at any stage of their sepsis journey which connects them to our MDT team and opens opportunities to participate in future research and other initiatives. Improving public awareness is a critical outcome for our consumers and they have co-designed media and digital campaigns. Discussion: The ideal FSS for post sepsis syndrome management is a clinical pathway designed in partnership with consumers of interventions proven to improve outcomes from sepsis that meets their requirements. The QPSP FSS is novel as it is co-designed with, and partly delivered by, consumers with interventions aimed to improve the entire spectrum of morbidities suffered by survivors and their families, not just physical sequelae. Evaluation is embedded in the program and outcomes will guide evolution of the FSS.