The Modified Clinical Progression Scale for Pediatric Patients: Evaluation as a Severity Metric and Outcome Measure in Severe Acute Viral Respiratory Illness

Sepsis in Critically Ill Children in Bolivia: Multicenter Retrospective Evaluation of the Phoenix Criteria for Sepsis in a 2023 Cohort

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the Phoenix criteria and the Phoenix Sepsis Score in a multicenter retrospective cohort of critically ill children with a clinical diagnosis of sepsis or septic shock in Bolivia. In addition, we aimed to assess whether management in a PICU at high altitude in the Bolivian Andes was associated with the performance of the respiratory dysfunction component in the Phoenix Sepsis Score.

DESIGN

Multicenter retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Fourteen PICUs in Bolivia.

PATIENTS

Children admitted to the PICU with a clinical diagnosis of sepsis or septic shock from January 2023 to December 2023.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

There were 273 patients with a diagnosis of sepsis in 2023, of which 257 (94.1%) met the 2024 Phoenix criteria for sepsis, and 166 (60.8%) met the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)-based criteria for sepsis. Among the 257 patients meeting Phoenix sepsis criteria, 86 died (33.5%). Of the patients with Phoenix-based sepsis, there were 100 of 257 (38.9%) who were SIRS-negative, and 27 of 100 died (27.0%). After correcting the oxygenation indices for altitude, 149 of 273 patients (54.6%) had a lower Phoenix respiratory score and an associated mortality more consistent with the expected mortality of the newly derived subscore. Patients at higher altitudes had higher hemoglobin levels and higher estimated oxygen carrying capacity, and these data were independently associated with lower odds of mortality after controlling for altitude-corrected Phoenix score.

CONCLUSIONS

In this 2023, retrospective cohort of PICU patients with sepsis in Bolivia, we have found that the majority met the 2024 Phoenix sepsis criteria, but less than two-thirds met the SIRS-based criteria for diagnosis. However, the respiratory score in the Phoenix criteria overestimated the severity of respiratory dysfunction in more than half of the cohort, likely because the score does not take account of the Andean adaptation to high altitude, with higher oxygen carrying capacity.

Association of an In-Hospital Desirability of Outcomes Ranking Scale With Postdischarge Health-Related Quality of Life: A Secondary Analysis of the Life After Pediatric Sepsis Evaluation

OBJECTIVES

To develop a desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) scale for use in children with septic shock and determine its correlation with a decrease in 3-month postadmission health-related quality of life (HRQL) or death.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of the Life After Pediatric Sepsis Evaluation prospective study.

SETTING

Twelve U.S. PICUs, 2013-2017.

PATIENTS

Children (1 mo-18 yr) with septic shock.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

We applied a 7-point pediatric critical care (PCC) DOOR scale: 7: death; 6: extracorporeal life support; 5: supported by life-sustaining therapies (continuous renal replacement therapy, vasoactive, or invasive ventilation); 4: hospitalized with or 3: without organ dysfunction; 2: discharged with or 1: without new morbidity to patients by assigning the highest applicable score on specific days post-PICU admission. We analyzed Spearman rank-order correlations (95% CIs) between proximal outcomes (PCC-DOOR scale on days 7, 14, and 21, ventilator-free days, cumulative 28-day Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 (PELOD-2) scores, and PICU-free days) and 3-month decrease in HRQL or death. HRQL was measured by Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 or Functional Status II-R for patients with developmental delay. Patients who died were assigned the worst possible HRQL score. PCC-DOOR scores were applied to 385 patients, median age 6 years (interquartile range 2, 13) and 177 (46%) with a complex chronic condition(s). Three-month outcomes were available for 245 patients (64%) and 42 patients (17%) died. PCC-DOOR scale on days 7, 14, and 21 demonstrated fair correlation with the primary outcome (-0.42 [-0.52, -0.31], -0.47 [-0.56, -0.36], and -0.52 [-0.61, -0.42]), similar to the correlations for cumulative 28-day PELOD-2 scores (-0.51 [-0.59, -0.41]), ventilator-free days (0.43 [0.32, 0.53]), and PICU-free days (0.46 [0.35, 0.55]).

CONCLUSIONS

The PCC-DOOR scale is a feasible, practical outcome for pediatric sepsis trials and demonstrates fair correlation with decrease in HRQL or death at 3 months.