High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation in Pediatric Acute Lung Injury: A Multicenter International Experience

Jordan S Rettig1, Craig D Smallwood, Brian K Walsh

  • 11Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 2Children's Medical Center of Dallas, Dallas, TX. 3Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 4Czech Technical University in Prague, Kladno, Czech Republic. 5Department of Pediatric Intensive Care, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 6Pediatric Intensive Care, Queen Paola Children's Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium. 7Division of Pediatric Intensive Care, Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 8The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Critical Care Medicine
|August 29, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric patients on high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) show varied mortality risks based on diagnosis. Immunocompromise and high oxygenation index predict worse outcomes, while respiratory syncytial virus indicates better survival.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Respiratory Physiology
  • Mechanical Ventilation

Background:

  • High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is a critical treatment for pediatric hypoxic respiratory failure.
  • Understanding current practices and outcomes is essential for optimizing HFOV use.
  • Predictive factors for mortality can guide clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe current clinical practice and outcomes of HFOV in pediatric patients.
  • To identify factors associated with improved outcomes and mortality risk.
  • To develop a model for stratifying mortality risk in pediatric HFOV patients.

Main Methods:

  • Multicenter retrospective observational study involving seven Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs).
  • Data collected from 328 pediatric patients treated with HFOV between 2009 and 2010.
  • Statistical analyses included univariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify mortality predictors.

Main Results:

  • Patients were stratified into six diagnostic cohorts.
  • Oxygenation index > 35 and immunocompromise were strong predictors of increased mortality risk (p < 0.0001).
  • Respiratory syncytial virus infection was associated with the lowest mortality risk (p = 0.003).

Conclusions:

  • This study provides a robust description of HFOV practice in pediatric hypoxic respiratory failure.
  • Patients with severe disease, immunocompromise face highest mortality; those with RSV have lowest.
  • Underlying condition and pre-HFOV oxygenation index can predict 30-day mortality risk.
Abstract

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