Admissions and deaths in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (1998)

Abstract

A descriptive study based on the findings obtained in children hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of the University Pediatric Hospital "José Luis Miranda" in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba, during 1998 was performed. Data regarding age, gender, nutritional status, previous health care condition, a disease which lead to their hospitalization in the PICU, altered parameters and cause of possible death were collected. A total of 309 patients, most of whom were 12 months or younger, were hospitalized. More than half had a previous health care clinical history. Most were admitted alive and within the deaths, several presented a background of previous disease. The most frequent causes of admission were sepsis, bronchopneumonia, bacterial meningoencephalitis and seizures. The principal diagnosis for the deaths was generalized sepsis. Within the deaths, a significant rate of patients classified as nutritionally undernourished was seen. The most frequently altered parameters were PaO2/FiO2, respiratory rate and heart rate. These results are similar to those found in the literature reviewed.