Risk factors for unplanned paediatric intensive care unit admission after anaesthesia—an international multicentre study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are associated with near-miss events, morbidity, and mortality. We describe the rate, resource utilization, and outcomes of paediatric patients urgently admitted directly to ICU post-anaesthesia compared to other sources of unplanned ICU admissions. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of data from specialist paediatric hospitals in 7 countries. Patients urgently admitted to the ICU post-anaesthesia were combined and matched with 1 to 3 unique controls from unplanned ICU admissions from other locations by age and hospital. Demographic, clinical, and outcome variables were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables and chi-square or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables. The effect of admission sources on binary outcomes was estimated using univariable conditional logistic regression models with stratification by matched set of anaesthesia and non-anaesthesia admission sources. Results Most admissions were <1 year of age and for respiratory reasons. Admissions post-anaesthesia were shorter, occurred later in the day, and were more likely to be mechanically ventilated. Admissions post-anaesthesia were less likely to have had a previous ICU admission (4.8% compared to 11%, P=0.032) or PIM ‘high-risk diagnosis’ (9.5% versus 17.2%, P=0.035) but there was no difference in the number of subsequent ICU admissions. There was no difference in the PIM severity of illness score and no mortality difference between the groups. Conclusions Young children and respiratory indications dominated unplanned ICU admissions post-anaesthesia, which was more likely later in the day and with mechanical ventilation.