Surviving pediatric intensive care: physical outcome after 3 months.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the prevalence and nature of physical and neurocognitive sequelae in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) survivors.


METHODS
Prospective follow-up study 3 months after discharge from a 14-bed tertiary PICU in The Netherlands.


METHODS
The families of 250 previously healthy children unexpectedly admitted to the PICU were invited to visit the outpatient follow-up clinic for structured medical examination of the child 3 months after discharge; 186 patients were evaluated.


RESULTS
Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) and Pediatric Overall Performance Category (POPC) values were determined at PICU discharge, at the outpatient follow-up clinic, and retrospectively before admission to the PICU. We found that 69% of children had physical sequelae. In 30% of cases these were caused by a previously unknown illness and in 39% by acquired morbidity. In 8% of the children the acquired morbidity was related to complications from PICU procedures. Three months after discharge 77% of the children had normal PCPC scores and 31% had normal POPC scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that PICU survival may be associated with substantial physical sequelae. Structured follow-up research, preferably by multicenter studies, is warranted in PICU survivors.
Knoester
Hendrika
H
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Emma Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. h.knoester@amc.uva.nl
Bronner
Madelon B
MB
Bos
Albert P
AP
D000293:Adolescent; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric