Outcome of Critically Ill Patients Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Basra Children’s Specialty Teaching Hospital at Basra, South Iraq

Abstract

Background: The development of pediatric special care units (PICUs) is crucial for the recovery of seriously ill children. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in children hospitalized due to various critical diseases, and the lifespan of such patients has increased. Aim: To determine the primary reason for PICU admissions, the outcome of hospitalization, the main cause of death and length of stay. Method: In a retrospective analysis, medical records of 397 children who were admitted to a tertiary pediatric hospital in southern Iraq were evaluated between January and December, 2019. Newborn infants under 28 days of age were excluded from this study. Result: The main source of the PICU admissions is pediatric patients which represents 79.2% of the total cases, of which cancer accounting for almost one-third of these cases at 28.0%. Death rate is noticed to be high in our PICU at around one-quarter of the total admissions (25%). A significant high death rate at 52% is found among children suffering from cancer. Respiratory failure and sepsis are found to be the main two reasons attributed to high fatality rate.  Among children admitted to the PICU, males carry more potential risk of PICU mortality than females in particularly at age 5-10 years (median age = 37.17 months). The vast majority of patients stay for fewer than 7 days across the total stay durations at approximately 82% of total cases. Conclusion: The most prevalent age for admission is infancy. High mortality rate is revealed at 25% of the total admissions. Most of the death occur among patients with cancer. Males at the age of around 3 years is seen as a potential risk factor for death. Short hospital stays are common.