Publication: Deaths in a paediatric intensive care unit: A review over three years
Issued Date
2012-01-01
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ISSN
13915452
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2-s2.0-84871755166
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Sri Lanka Journalof Child Health. Vol.41, No.4 (2012), 166-170
Suggested Citation
Anant Khositseth, Nattachai Anantasit, Jarin Vaewpanich Deaths in a paediatric intensive care unit: A review over three years. Sri Lanka Journalof Child Health. Vol.41, No.4 (2012), 166-170. doi:10.4038/sljch.v41i4.4977 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/15044
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Title
Deaths in a paediatric intensive care unit: A review over three years
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Abstract
Background: Deaths in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are sometimes unavoidable. The decision to withdraw or withhold treatment is important especially in places where there are limited resources. Objective: To evaluate the modes of death and underlying diseases of patients' deaths in a PICU. Method: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features and management of consecutive nonsurvivors in the PICU at a tertiary care University Hospital in a developing country over a three-year period. Results: Of 1,389 admissions, 110 (8%) patients died. The median age of the deaths was 4.1 years. Most (86%) patients had underlying diseases including congenital heart diseases (27%) and malignancies (23%). Forty-seven patients died with active treatment (AT), 60 died with life support limitation (LSL), and 3 had brain death (BD). The median length of stay (LOS) in AT group was 3 days and this was not significantly different (p=0.056) from the median LOS in LSL group which was 5 days. LOS less than 3 days, postoperative cases and underlying diseases of the cardiovascular system were factors associated with the AT group. The three common complications leading to death were multi-organ failure, septicaemia with septic shock and respiratory failure. Conclusions: Congenital heart diseases and malignancies were the two common underlying diseases found in non-survivors. LSL was the common mode of death in PICU.