Objectives
To prospectively evaluate quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial outcomes in children with severe acute asthma (SAA) after pediatric intensive care (PICU) admission compared to children ...with SAA who were admitted to a general ward (GW). In addition, we assessed posttraumatic stress (PTS) and asthma‐related QoL in the parents.
Methods
A preplanned follow‐up of 3 to 9 months of our nationwide prospective multicenter study, in which children with SAA admitted to a Dutch PICU (n = 110) or GW (n = 111) were enrolled between 2016 and 2018. Asthma‐related QoL, PTS symptoms, emotional and behavioral problems, and social impact in children and/or parents were assessed with validated web‐based questionnaires.
Results
We included 100 children after PICU and 103 after GW admission, with a response rate of 50% for the questionnaires. Median time to follow‐up was 5 months (range: 1‐12 months). Time to reach full schooldays after admission was significantly longer in the PICU group (mean of 10 vs 4 days, P = .001). Parents in the PICU group reported more PTS symptoms (intrusion P = .01, avoidance P = .01, arousal P = .02) compared to the GW group.
Conclusion
No significant differences were found between PICU and GW children on self‐reported outcome domains, except for the time to reach full schooldays. PICU parents reported PTS symptoms more often than the GW group. Therefore, monitoring asthma symptoms and psychosocial screening of children and parents after PICU admission should both be part of standard care after SAA. This should identify those who are at risk for developing PTSD, to timely provide appropriate interventions.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in children receiving haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and immune effector cell therapy is controversial and evidence-based guidelines have ...not been established. Remarkable advancements in HCT and immune effector cell therapies have changed expectations around reversibility of organ dysfunction and survival for affected patients. Herein, members of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI) Network (HCT and cancer immunotherapy subgroup), the Pediatric Diseases Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), the supportive care committee of the Pediatric Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Consortium (PTCTC), and the Pediatric Intensive Care Oncology Kids in Europe Research (POKER) group of the European Society of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC) provide consensus recommendations on the use of ECMO in children receiving HCT and immune effector cell therapy. These are the first international, multidisciplinary consensus-based recommendations on the use of ECMO in this patient population. This Review provides a clinical decision support tool for paediatric haematologists, oncologists, and critical care physicians during the difficult decision-making process of ECMO candidacy and management. These recommendations can represent a base for future research studies focused on ECMO selection criteria and bedside management.