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High incidence of acute lung injury in children with Down syndrome

M Bruijn1, L B van der Aa, R R van Rijn

  • 1Emma Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Center, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, PO Box 22660, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.bruijn@amc.uva.nl

Intensive Care Medicine
|August 4, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Children with Down syndrome (CDS) experience a higher incidence of acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) when on mechanical ventilation. Further research is needed to understand the underlying causes and clinical implications.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric critical care medicine
  • Pulmonology
  • Genetics and rare diseases

Background:

  • Acute respiratory tract infections are a significant cause of hospitalization and morbidity in children with Down syndrome (CDS).
  • The severe disease course in CDS may be linked to an increased susceptibility to acute lung injury (ALI).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the incidence of ALI and ARDS in mechanically ventilated children with Down syndrome (CDS).

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU).
  • Mechanically ventilated CDS patients were compared to a control group of non-Down syndrome patients admitted during overlapping periods.
  • Exclusion criteria included postoperative patients and those with a cardiac left-to-right shunt.

Main Results:

  • The incidence of ALI was significantly higher in CDS (58.3%) compared to controls (12.9%).
  • The incidence of ARDS was also substantially higher in CDS (46%) versus controls (7%).
  • Mortality from ALI was zero in the CDS group, while ten control patients with ALI died.

Conclusions:

  • Children with Down syndrome exhibit a markedly increased incidence of ALI and ARDS when requiring mechanical ventilation.
  • The reasons for this heightened susceptibility in CDS remain unclear and warrant further investigation.
  • Additional research is necessary to clarify the clinical implications of these findings.
Abstract

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