Journal of Contemporary Medicine (Mar 2022)
CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO THE PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the patients who received health services in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Ankara City Hospital’s Pediatrics Department in a 2-year period and the outcomes of these cases by examining their clinical and demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the 32-bed tertiary PICU of Ankara City Hospital. The records of 2280 patients between the ages of 1 month and 18 years who were hospitalized in the PICU between September 1, 2019, and September 1, 2021, were retrospectively analyzed. Age, sex, presence of chronic disease, reason for hospitalization in the intensive care unit, length of stay, status and duration of respiratory support, and mortality rates were evaluated. Results: The mean age of the patients was 5.16±5.12 years and the mean PICU stay was 12.47±20.16 days. Bronchiolitis, sepsis, pneumonia, trauma, congenital heart disease, status epilepticus, hematological diseases, oncological diseases, diabetic ketoacidosis, and metabolic diseases were found to be the most common reasons for hospitalization in the PICU. The most frequent underlying diseases were neurological, respiratory, hematological, cardiological, endocrinological, nephrological, gastrointestinal system, oncological, and metabolic diseases. The mortality rate of these patients was 10.8%. Underlying oncological or hematological diseases and immunodeficiency, higher susceptibility to infection, longer hospital stay, and longer duration of mechanical ventilation were found to be statistically significantly higher in deceased patients compared to survivors. Conclusion: The profile of patients admitted to PICUs is expanding day by day. A significant decrease in mortality was observed in all patient groups as a multidisciplinary approach was implemented. It was also observed that most of the patients had an underlying chronic disease and this condition was associated with mortality.
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