Whereas red blood cell transfusions have been used since the 19th century, plasma has only been available since 1941. It was originally mainly used as volume replacement, mostly during World War II ...and the Korean War. Over the years, its indication has shifted to correct coagulation factors deficiencies or to prevent bleeding. Currently, it remains a frequent treatment in the intensive care unit, both for critically ill adults and children. However, observational studies have shown that plasma transfusion fail to correct mildly abnormal coagulation tests. Furthermore, recent epidemiological studies have shown that plasma transfusions are associated with an increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Therefore, plasma, as any other treatment, has to be used when the benefits outweigh the risks. Based on observational data, most experts suggest limiting its use either to massively bleeding patients or bleeding patients who have documented abnormal coagulation tests, and refraining for transfusing plasma to nonbleeding patients whatever their coagulation tests. In this paper, we will review current evidence on plasma transfusions and discuss its indications.
Hyperglycemia after cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass in children has been associated with worse outcome; however, causality has never been proven. Furthermore, the benefit of tight glycemic ...control is inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to describe the metabolic constellation of children before, during, and after cardiopulmonary bypass, in order to identify a subset of patients that might benefit from insulin treatment.
Prospective observational study, in which insulin treatment was initiated when postoperative blood glucose levels were more than 12 mmol/L (216 mg/dL).
Tertiary PICU.
Ninety-six patients 6 months to 16 years old undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.
None.
Metabolic tests were performed before anesthesia, at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass, at PICU admission, and 4 and 12 hours after PICU admission, as well as 4 hours after initiation of insulin treatment. Ketosis was present in 17.9% patients at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass and in 31.2% at PICU admission. Young age was an independent risk factor for this condition. Ketosis at PICU admission was an independent risk factor for an increased difference between arterial and venous oxygen saturation. Four hours after admission (p = 0.05). Insulin corrected ketosis within 4 hours.
In this study, we found a high prevalence of ketosis at PICU admission, especially in young children. This was independently associated with an imbalance between oxygen transport and consumption and was corrected by insulin. These results set the basis for future randomized controlled trials, to test whether this subgroup of patients might benefit from increased glucose intake and insulin during surgery to avoid ketosis, as improving oxygen transport and consumption might improve patient outcome.
Management of children with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains challenging. Various scores try to facilitate therapeutic decision-making. We aim to assess the agreement of three scores intending ...to predict the need for surgery and/or mortality in our patient cohort, and analyze agreement between the different scores.
This study is a retrospective analysis of patients with NEC Bell's stage II and III, managed in a single institution (1991-2011). Three existing scores (Metabolic Derangement Acuity score, NEC score, Detroit score) were calculated individually for each patient. The agreement between predicted outcome by scores and real outcome was evaluated with kappa statistic.
Of 57 children, 46% presented with NEC stage II, 54% with stage III, 46% were treated with surgery, 54% conservatively, and survival was 58%. The kappa indexes for "need for surgery" were 0.41, 0.13, and 0.12 and kappa indexes for "mortality" were 0.27, 0.04, and 0.1 for the Metabolic Derangement Acuity score, the NEC score, and the Detroit score, respectively.
In our cohort, the agreement between the predicted outcomes by scores and the real need for surgery and/or mortality was poor. There was a lack of clinical usefulness of the tested scores. We must continue to better identify parameters to help guide the management of these patients.
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