Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Children Admitted to a Brazilian ICU

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical profile of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Southeast Brazil and to analyze predictive factors associated with mortality.Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted over a 24 month (August 2018–2020), including 562 patients aged 1 month to 18 years admitted to the PICU. Patients were categorized into two groups: cardiac and non-cardiac diseases. Mann-Whitney U, Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression were used for group comparisons, with a significance level set at 5%.Results: The median age of the patients was 31 months (interquartile range 9-108), with 53.9% being male. Surgical interventions predominated (51.2%), primarily for congenital heart diseases (38.8%). Other frequent causes of admission included respiratory disease (19%) and sepsis (14.1%). Children with cardiac diseases had a higher incidence of mechanical ventilation (66.5% vs. 48%, p<0.001) and vasoactive drug use (57.3% vs. 24.7%, p<0.001). However, they had shorter durations of invasive ventilation (1 vs. 5 days, p<0.001) and vasoactive drug use (2 vs. 3 days, p=0.032) compared to non-cardiac patients. A total of 38 patients (6.8%) died, with a higher mortality rate observed among those with non-cardiac diseases (9% vs. 3.2%, p=0.009).Conclusion: Non-cardiac patients had higher mortality rates and longer durations of invasive mechanical ventilation and vasoactive drug use. Cardiac disease patients experienced more favorable clinical outcomes in this study population.

Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Children Admitted to a Brazilian ICU Keywords:

Heart Defects , Congenital , Intensive Care Units , Pediatric , Cardiac surgical procedures