Factors associated with cerebral edema in children under 5 years of age admitted in an intensive care unit and their outcome

Correcting Hypernatremia in Children

BACKGROUND

In children with hypernatremia, current clinical guidelines recommend a reduction in serum sodium of 0.5 mmol/L per hour or less to avoid complications of cerebral edema. However, no large-scale studies have been conducted in the pediatric setting to inform this recommendation. Therefore, this study aimed to report the association between the rate of correction of hypernatremia, neurological outcomes, and all-cause mortality in children.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2016 to 2019 at a quaternary pediatric center in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. All children with at least one serum sodium level ≥150 mmol/L were identified through interrogation of the hospital's electronic medical record. Medical notes, neuroimaging reports, and electroencephalogram results were reviewed for evidence of seizures and/or cerebral edema. The peak serum sodium level was identified and correction rates over the first 24 hours and overall were calculated. Unadjusted and multivariable analyses were used to examine the association between the rate of sodium correction and neurological complications, the requirement for neurological investigation, and death.

RESULTS

There were 402 episodes of hypernatremia among 358 children over the 3-year study period. Of these, 179 were community-acquired and 223 developed during admission. A total of 28 patients (7%) died during admission. Mortality was higher in children with hospital-acquired hypernatremia, as was the frequency of intensive care unit admission and hospital length of stay. Rapid correction (>0.5 mmol/L per hour) occurred in 200 children and was not associated with greater neurological investigation or mortality. Length of stay was longer in children who received slow correction (<0.5 mmol/L per hour).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study did not find any evidence that rapid sodium correction was associated with greater neurological investigation, cerebral edema, seizures, or mortality; however, slow correction was associated with a longer hospital length of stay.

Outcomes of Pediatric Drowning in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Drowning remains a leading cause of death in children. Knowledge of outcomes of these patients who survive drowning but require critical care is lacking. We aim to study the current mortality rate, describe interventions and associated diagnoses, and examine factors related to risk of death in drowning victims admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study utilizing data from the Virtual Pediatric Systems Database in 143 PICUs between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2019. Patients between 0 and 18 years of age admitted to a PICU with a diagnosis of drowning were included. The primary outcome was death prior to hospital discharge. Predictors included demographics, critical care interventions, and associated diagnoses. Odds ratios were calculated using multivariate logistic regression. There were 4,855 patients admitted with drowning across the study period. The overall PICU mortality rate in this cohort was 18.7%. Factors associated with an increased odds of death included being transported from an outside hospital, mechanical ventilation, central line placement, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. In 2,479 patients requiring mechanical ventilation, 63 were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation which was not associated with mortality. This data provide updated insight into pediatric drowning victims requiring critical care and their prognosis, as it relates to the interventions they receive. Overall PICU mortality rates for drowning are higher than overall PICU mortality and mortality from other causes of injury. These findings have implications for the care of drowned children in ICU environments and in continued preventive efforts.