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Anemia at pediatric intensive care unit discharge: prevalence and risk markers

Pierre Demaret1,2, Oliver Karam3,4, Marisa Tucci5

  • 1Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, CHC, Liège, Belgium. pierre.demaret@chc.be.

Annals of Intensive Care
|October 26, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Anemia is common in children leaving the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), with over half of patients affected. Anemia at PICU admission is the strongest predictor of anemia at discharge.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Hematology
  • Pediatric Hospital Medicine

Background:

  • Anemia is a common condition in children admitted to and staying in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
  • Little is known about the prevalence and risk factors of anemia specifically at the time of PICU discharge.
  • Anemia following critical illness may impact outcomes after discharge from the PICU.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of anemia among children at the time of discharge from the PICU.
  • To identify risk markers associated with anemia at PICU discharge.

Main Methods:

  • An ancillary study of a prospective observational study on transfusion practices in a tertiary care children's hospital PICU.
  • Included 679 children admitted to the PICU over a 1-year period.
  • Defined anemia as hemoglobin concentration below the age-appropriate normal range; collected discharge hemoglobin data retrospectively.

Main Results:

  • 57.4% of children (390/679) were anemic at PICU discharge.
  • Anemia at PICU admission was the strongest predictor of anemia at discharge, with varying strength by age.
  • Children admitted after non-cardiac surgery had an increased risk of anemia at discharge (OR 2.30).

Conclusions:

  • Anemia is highly prevalent upon PICU discharge.
  • Anemia at PICU admission is a strong predictor of discharge anemia.
  • Current age-based anemia definitions may not be suitable for critically ill children; further research on consequences is needed.
Abstract

Keywords:
AnemiaChildErythrocyteOutcomePediatricPediatric intensive care unit

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