Sepsis-related pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome: A multicenter prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the risk factors and outcomes for organ dysfunction between sepsis-related Pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) and nonsepsis PARDS. METHODS: We prospective cohort recruited intubated patients with PARDS at four tertiary care centers in Thailand. The baseline characteristics, mechanical ventilation, fluid balance, and clinical outcomes were collected. The primary outcome was organ dysfunction. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-two mechanically ventilated children with PARDS were included in the study. The median age was 29 months and 53.8% were male. The mortality rate was 22.7% and organ dysfunction was 45.4%. There were 26 (19.7%) and 106 (80.3%) patients who were classified into sepsis-related PARDS and nonsepsis PARDS, respectively. Sepsis-related PARDS patients had a significantly higher incidence of acute kidney injury (30.8% vs. 13.2%, P = 0.041), septic shock (88.5% vs. 32.1%, P < 0.001), organ dysfunction (84.6% vs. 35.8%, P < 0.001), and death (42.3% vs. 17.9%, P = 0.016) than nonsepsis PARDS group. Multivariate analysis adjusted for clinical variables showed that sepsis-related PARDS and percentage of fluid overload were significantly associated with organ dysfunction (odds ratio [OR] 11.414; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40892.557, P = 0.023 and OR 1.169; 95% CI 1.0121.352, P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: Sepsis-related PARDS patients had more severe illness, organ dysfunction, and mortality than nonsepsis PARDS patients. The higher percentage of fluid overload and presentation of sepsis was the independent risk factor of organ dysfunction in PARDS patients.