The effect of medical co-morbidities on LOS and mortality within PICU
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do medical co-morbidities influence length of stay and mortality in a paediatric intensive care unit – a five year retrospective cohort study
IRAS ID
148135
Contact name
Ruth Harris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's University london
Research summary
Each year approximately 20,000 critically ill children are admitted to paediatric intensive care units PICU) across the U.K. It is estimated that 40% of admissions are children who have been diagnosed having one or more chronic long term illness. A chronic illness is a medical condition that can last at least 12 months and which involves one or several organ systems severely enough to require specialised paediatric medical support.
It has been highlighted in several international studies that these children have a threefold risk of increased admissions to PICU, two fold longer stay in PICU and 50% higher mortality rate. However the prevalence of children with chronic illness admitted to UK PICU’s is unknown. This study will attempt to evaluate the prevalence and variation of chronic illness among children admitted to a single site UK PICU. To determine if having a chronic illness increases PICU length of stay (LOS), mortality and expenditure beyond that normally experienced by children without chronic illness.
This will be a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patient’s = 18 years who were admitted to St Mary’s PICU, Imperial Healthcare Trust, London between 01/01/2007 – 31/12/2011. The study will analyse data provided by the national Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet). PICANet is a clinical database which collects demographic and clinical information on all children admitted to U.K PICU’s.
By gaining insight into the prevalence of chronic illness in children admitted to PICU it is hoped the results of the study will lead to greater understanding how PICU admission effects these children and how they impact on PICU resource. The conclusions of the study could also lead to greater understanding of the influence of chronic illness has on PICU mortality and LOS outcome measures, allowing each PICU to determine the effectiveness of these outcome measures in their patient population.REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/1012
Date of REC Opinion
28 May 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion