The State of the Do-Not-Resuscitate Order in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in the Middle East: A Retrospective Study

2022 ◽  
pp. 082585972110732
Author(s):  
R. Sabouneh ◽  
Z. Lakissian ◽  
N. Hilal ◽  
R. Sharara-Chami
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Multiorgan Failure ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
Operative Management ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Do Not Resuscitate

Objectives The Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order is part of most hospitals’ policies on the process of making and communicating decisions about a patient's resuscitation status. Yet it has not become a part of our society's ritual of dying in the Middle East especially among children. Given the diversity of pediatric patients, the DNR order continues to represent a challenge to all parties involved in the care of children including the medical team and the family. Methods This was a retrospective review of the medical charts of patients who had died in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a tertiary academic institution in Beirut, Lebanon within the period of January 2012 and December 2017. Results Eighty-two charts were extracted, 79 were included in the analysis. Three were excluded as one patient had died in the Emergency Department (ED) and 2 charts were incomplete. Most patients were male, Lebanese, and from Muslim families. These patients clinically presented with primary cardiac and oncological diseases or were admitted from the ED with respiratory distress or from the operating room for post-operative management. The primary cause of death was multiorgan failure and cardiac arrest. Only 34% of families had agreed to a DNR order prior to death and 10% suggested “soft” resuscitation. Most discussions were held in the presence of the parents, the PICU team and the patient's primary physician. Conclusions The DNR order presents one of the most difficult challenges for all care providers involved, especially within a culturally conservative setting such as Lebanon. As the numbers suggest, it is difficult for parents to reach the decision to completely withhold resuscitative measures for pediatric patients, instead opting for “soft” resuscitations like administering epinephrine without chest compressions.

Visitation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Controversy and Compromise

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy E. Page ◽  
Nancy M. Boeing
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Family ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Family Centered

Much controversy has arisen in the last few decades regarding parental and family visitation in the intensive care setting. The greatest needs of parents while their child is in an intensive care unit include: to be near their child, to receive honest information, and to believe their child is receiving the best care possible. The barriers that exist to the implementation of open visitation mostly are staff attitudes and misconceptions of parental needs. Open visitation has been found in some studies to make the health-care providers’ job easier, decrease parental anxiety, and increase a child’s cooperativeness with procedures. To provide family-centered care in the pediatric intensive care unit, the family must be involved in their child’s care from the day of admission. As health-care providers, the goal is to empower the family to be able to advocate and care for their child throughout and beyond the life crisis of a pediatric intensive care unit admission

scholarly journals Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: The First 10 Years Experience of a Portuguese Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 435
Author(s):  
Daniel Meireles ◽  
Francisco Abecasis ◽  
Leonor Boto ◽  
Cristina Camilo ◽  
Miguel Abecasis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Overall Survival ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Extracorporeal Life Support ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
Overall Survival Rate ◽  
Clinical Complications

Introduction: In Portugal, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used in pediatric patients since 2010. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of patients, indications, complications and mortality associated with the use of ECMO during the first 10-years of experience in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit located in Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte.Material and Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study of all patients supported with ECMO in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, from the 1st of May 2010 up to 31st December 2019.Results: Sixty-five patients were included: 37 neonatal (≤ 28 days of age) and 28 pediatric patients (> 28 days). In neonatal cases, congenital diaphragmatic hernia was the main reason for ECMO (40% of neonatal patients and 23% of total). Among pediatric patients, respiratory distress was the leading indication for ECMO (47% of total). The median length of ECMO support was 12 days. Clinical complications were more frequent than mechanical complications (65% vs 35%). Among clinical complications, access site bleeding was the most prevalent with 38% of cases. The overall patient survival was 68% at the time of discharge (65% for neonatal and 71% for pediatric cases), while the overall survival rate in Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry was 61%. The number of ECMO runs has been increasing since 2011, even though in a non-linear way (three cases in 2010 to 11 cases in 2019).Discussion: In the first 10 years we received patients from all over the country. Despite continuous technological developments, circuitrelated complications have a significant impact. The overall survival rate in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was not inferior to the one reported by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.Conclusion: The overall survival of our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is not inferior to one reported by other international centers. Our experience showed the efficacy of the ECMO technique in a Portuguese centre.

scholarly journals Clinical Factors Influencing End-of-Life Care in a Chinese Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective, post-hoc Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueniu Zhu ◽  
Xiaodong Zhu ◽  
Lili Xu ◽  
Mengyan Deng
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
Clinical Factors ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Previous Hospitalization ◽  
Underlying Diseases ◽  
Eol Care

Objective: End-of-life(EOL) care decision-making for infants and children is a painful experience. The study aimed to explore the clinical factors influencing the EOL care to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining treatment (WLST) in Chinese pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).Methods: A 14-year retrospective study (2006–2019) for pediatric patients who died in PICU was conducted. Based on the mode of death, patients were classified into WLST group (death after WLST) and fCPR group (death after full intervention, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Intergroup differences in the epidemiological and clinical factors were determined.Results: There were 715 patients enrolled in this study. Of these patients, 442 (61.8%) died after WLST and 273 (38.2%) died after fCPR. Patients with previous hospitalizations or those who had been transferred from other hospitals more frequently chose WLST than fCPR (both P < 0.01), and the mean PICU stay duration was significantly longer in the WLST group (P < 0.05). WLST patients were more frequently complicated with chronic underlying disease, especially tumor (P < 0.01). Sepsis, diarrhea, and cardiac attack (all P < 0.05) were more frequent causes of death in the fCPR group, whereas tumor as a direct cause of death was more frequently seen in the WLST group. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that previous hospitalization and underlying diseases diagnosed before admission were strongly associated with EOL care with WLST decision (OR: 1.6; P < 0.05 and OR: 1.6; P < 0.01, respectively).Conclusions: Pediatric patients with previous hospitalization and underlying diseases diagnosed before admission were associated with the EOL care to WLST.

scholarly journals P0059 / #899: USE OF DEXMEDETOMIDINE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS AT THE PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PEDIATRICS

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement 1 3S) ◽  
pp. 63-63
Author(s):  
F.G. De Araujo De La Vega ◽  
S.L. Lizárraga-López ◽  
L. Diaz Garcia ◽  
P. Zárate Castañón
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care

scholarly journals Patient- and Family-Centered Video Rounds in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan L. DeSanti ◽  
Diane H. Brown ◽  
Sushant Srinivasan ◽  
Tom Brazelton ◽  
Michael Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Family Centered

Objective: Management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required social distancing requirements and personal protective equipment shortages, which have forced hospitals to modify patient care rounds. We describe our process developing telemedicine rounds to maintain synchronous, multidisciplinary, pediatric intensive care unit rounds. By adapting available resources using rapid process improvement (PI), we were able to develop patient- and family-centered video rounds (PFCVR). Design: When rounding team members were forced to work from home, we adapted an existing telemedicine platform (VidyoConnect) to perform PFCVR. A quality improvement (QI) team developed an initial standard process, which underwent rapid PI using a small multidisciplinary team. Setting: A 21-bed, mixed medical/surgical/cardiac pediatric intensive care unit. Participants: Critical care patients, families, physicians, consultants, nurses, and ancillary staff. Interventions: The QI team initially met daily, then weekly, sought feedback from nurses, families, and other care providers, and utilized small tests of change to improve the rounding process. Results: We established standardized, socially distanced rounds using VidyoConnect to allow synchronous, multidisciplinary PFCVR. Implementation of a schedule and rounding script facilitated efficient and effective team communication, optimized participation by the entire team, and decreased interruptions. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic compromised the feasibility of the previous rounding process. PFCVR is a safe and effective tool to facilitate communication while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Use of available platforms and team-based PI is critical for successful implementation.

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