Aim of the Study Scrub typhus has been globally recognized as an emerging infectious disease contributing significantly to pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) and a potential cause of multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS). We studied the incidence of scrub typhus as a cause of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission and MODS in our hospital and its clinical and laboratory characteristics to...

BACKGROUND Candida species are the leading cause of invasive fungal infections in hospitalized children and are the third most common isolates recovered from patients with healthcare-associated bloodstream infection in the United States. Few data exist on risk factors for candidemia in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients. METHODS We conducted a population-based case-control study of...

BACKGROUND Hyperglycemia and acute kidney injury (AKI) are common in critically ill children and have been associated with higher morbidity and mortality. The incidence of AKI in children is difficult to estimate because of the lack of a standard definition for AKI. The pediatric RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of kidney function, and End-stage kidney disease) criteria can be used to define ...

OBJECTIVE We evaluated retrospectively plasma glucose levels and the degree of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and glucose variability in a PICU and then assessed their association with hospital length of stay and mortality rates. METHODS Electronic medical records at the Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University were reviewed retrospectively for all PICU admissions between March 1, 200...

Objective: Predict patient-specific vitals deemed medically acceptable for discharge from a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU). Design: The means of each patient’s heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements between their medical and physical discharge from the ICU were computed as a proxy for their physiologically acceptable state space (PASS) for successful ICU discharge. ...

OBJECTIVE To characterize the relationship between hyponatremia (serum sodium <135 mEq/L) and clinical outcomes in children ages 1 month to 2 years admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with bronchiolitis. STUDY DESIGN Single-center retrospective cohort study comprising children who were admitted to the PICU between January 2009 and April 2011. Serum sodium concentrations, coll...

OBJECTIVE To assess the extent of use of drugs not appropriate for children in prescriptions issued in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), according to FDA standards. METHODS Observational cross-sectional study. The prescriptions issued to all patients admitted to the PICU at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, over a six-week period were assessed. Patients' age, sex, w...

BACKGROUND Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been hypothesized not only to be common but also to represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for greater illness severity and clinical outcome during critical illness. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the frequency of VDD in pediatric critical illness and its association with clinical outcomes. METHODS MEDLINE, Embase, an...