title: Life expectancy of brain impaired, chronically ventilated children.
abstract: We present a 5-year survival profile of 42 children and adolescents between 1 to 21 years of age in an immobile minimally conscious state, chronically dependent on supportive ventilation. Data were collected from a 22-bed pediatric unit dedicated to this unique population, within a 350-bed geriatric hospital, between May 2006 and May 2011. The practice of ventilating children even in minimally conscious state stems from the unique cultural, religious, and ethnic background of the population in Israel. The 5-year survival probability was 48% (52% probability of death within 5 years, 26.5% within 2 years). No significant difference was found in the survival profile of patients admitted following hypoxic accidents (20 children) and those admitted with other problems such as genetic/metabolic diseases or brain anomalies (22). The mortality rate of male patients was higher than that of female patients, but the difference was not statistically significant. No difference in 5-year mortality rates was found between children of different ethnic backgrounds.
authors.affiliation: Children Respiratory Unit, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. gale.joe@mail.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gale
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Namestnic
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007557:Israel / Q000208:ethnology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D018458:Persistent Vegetative State / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000401:mortality* / Q000639:trends; D055815:Young Adult