Elevated PAI-1 is associated with poor clinical outcomes in pediatric patients with acute lung injury.

PurposeDeposition of fibrin in the alveolar space is a hallmark of acute lung injury (ALI). Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is an antifibrinolytic agent that is activated during inflammation. Increased plasma and pulmonary edema fluid levels of PAI-1 are associated with increased mortality in adults with ALI. This relationship has not been examined in children. The objective of this study was to test whether increased plasma PAI-1 levels are associated with worse clinical outcomes in pediatric patients with ALI.Design/methodsWe measured plasma PAI-1 levels on the first day of ALI among 94 pediatric patients enrolled in two separate prospective, multicenter investigations and followed them for clinical outcomes. All patients met American European Consensus Conference criteria for ALI.ResultsA total of 94 patients were included. The median age was 3.2 years (range 16 days-18 years), the PaO(2)/F(i)O(2) was 141 +/- 72 (mean +/- SD), and overall mortality was 14/94 (15%). PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (P < 0.01). The adjusted odds of mortality doubled for every log increase in the level of plasma PAI-1 after adjustment for age and severity of illness.ConclusionsHigher PAI-1 levels are associated with increased mortality and fewer ventilator-free days among pediatric patients with ALI. These findings suggest that impaired fibrinolysis may play a role in the pathogenesis of ALI in pediatric patients and suggest that PAI-1 may serve as a useful biomarker of prognosis in patients with ALI

Biological markers of lung injury before and after the institution of positive pressure ventilation in patients with acute lung injury

BACKGROUND: Several biological markers of lung injury are predictors of morbidity and mortality in patients with acute lung injury (ALI). The low tidal volume lung-protective ventilation strategy is associated with a significant decrease in plasma biomarker levels compared to the high tidal volume ventilation strategy. The primary objective of this study was to test whether the institution of lung-protective positive pressure ventilation in spontaneously ventilating patients with ALI exacerbates pre-existing lung injury by using measurements of biomarkers of lung injury before and after intubation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care university hospital. Twenty-five intubated, mechanically ventilated patients with ALI were enrolled. Physiologic data and serum samples were collected within 6 hours before intubation and at two different time points within the first 24 hours after intubation to measure the concentration of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and von Willebrand factor (vWF). The differences in biomarker levels before and after intubation were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance and a paired t test with correction for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Before endotracheal intubation, all of the biological markers (IL-8, IL-6, ICAM-1, and vWF) were elevated in the spontaneously breathing patients with ALI. After intubation and the institution of positive pressure ventilation (tidal volume 7 to 8 ml/kg per ideal body weight), none of the biological markers was significantly increased at either an early (3 ± 2 hours) or later (21 ± 5 hours) time point. However, the levels of IL-8 were significantly decreased at the later time point (21 ± 5 hours) after intubation. During the 24-hour period after intubation, the PaO(2)/FiO(2 )(partial pressure of arterial oxygen/fraction of the inspired oxygen) ratio significantly increased and the plateau airway pressure significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: Levels of IL-8, IL-6, vWF, and ICAM-1 are elevated in spontaneously ventilating patients with ALI prior to endotracheal intubation. The institution of a lung-protective ventilation strategy with positive pressure ventilation does not further increase the levels of biological markers of lung injury. The results suggest that the institution of a lung-protective positive pressure ventilation strategy does not worsen the pre-existing lung injury in most patients with ALI

Pulmonary Metagenomic Sequencing Suggests Missed Infections in Immunocompromised Children

This article is made available for unrestricted re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or until permissions are revoked in writing.BACKGROUND: Despite improved diagnostics, pulmonary pathogens in immunocompromised children frequently evade detection, leading to significant mortality. Therefore, we aimed to develop a highly sensitive metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) assay capable of evaluating the pulmonary microbiome and identifying diverse pathogens in the lungs of immunocompromised children. METHODS: We collected 41 lower respiratory specimens from 34 immunocompromised children undergoing evaluation for pulmonary disease at 3 children's hospitals from 2014-2016. Samples underwent mechanical homogenization, parallel RNA/DNA extraction, and metagenomic sequencing. Sequencing reads were aligned to the National Center for Biotechnology Information nucleotide reference database to determine taxonomic identities. Statistical outliers were determined based on abundance within each sample and relative to other samples in the cohort. RESULTS: We identified a rich cross-domain pulmonary microbiome that contained bacteria, fungi, RNA viruses, and DNA viruses in each patient. Potentially pathogenic bacteria were ubiquitous among samples but could be distinguished as possible causes of disease by parsing for outlier organisms. Samples with bacterial outliers had significantly depressed alpha-diversity (median, 0.61; interquartile range [IQR], 0.33-0.72 vs median, 0.96; IQR, 0.94-0.96; P < .001). Potential pathogens were detected in half of samples previously negative by clinical diagnostics, demonstrating increased sensitivity for missed pulmonary pathogens (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: An optimized mNGS assay for pulmonary microbes demonstrates significant inoculation of the lower airways of immunocompromised children with diverse bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Potential pathogens can be identified based on absolute and relative abundance. Ongoing investigation is needed to determine the pathogenic significance of outlier microbes in the lungs of immunocompromised children with pulmonary disease

A prospective investigation of interleukin-8 levels in pediatric acute respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract Background The association of plasma interleukin-8 (IL-8), or IL-8 genetic variants, with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) in children with acute respiratory failure at risk for PARDS has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of early and sequential measurement of plasma IL-8 and/or its genetic variants with development of PARDS and other clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated children with acute respiratory failure. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of children 2 weeks to 17 years of age with acute airways and/or parenchymal lung disease done in 22 pediatric intensive care units participating in the multi-center clinical trial, Randomized Evaluation of Sedation Titration for Respiratory Failure (RESTORE). Plasma IL-8 levels were measured within 24 h of consent and 24 and 48 h later. DNA was purified from whole blood, and IL-8 single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs4073, rs2227306, and rs2227307, were genotyped. Results Five hundred forty-nine patients were enrolled; 480 had blood sampling. Plasma IL-8 levels ranged widely from 4 to 7373 pg/mL. Highest IL-8 levels were observed on the day of intubation with subsequent tapering. Levels of IL-8 varied significantly across primary diagnoses with the highest levels occurring in patients with sepsis and the lowest levels in those with asthma. Plasma IL-8 was strongly correlated with oxygenation defect and severity of illness. IL-8 was consistently higher in PARDS patients compared to those without PARDS; levels were 4–12 fold higher in non-survivors compared to survivors. On multivariable analysis, IL-8 was independently associated with death, duration of mechanical ventilation, and PICU length of stay on all days measured, but was not associated with PARDS development. There was no association between the IL-8 single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs4073, rs2227306, and rs2227307, and PARDS development or plasma IL-8 level. Conclusions When measured sequentially, plasma IL-8 was robustly associated with multiple, relevant clinical outcomes including mortality, but was not associated with PARDS development. The wide range of plasma IL-8 levels exhibited in this cohort suggests that further study into the heterogeneity of this patient population and its impact on individual responses to PARDS treatment is warranted.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148649/1/13054_2019_Article_2342.pd

Predicting Mortality in Children With Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome:A Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Incidence and Epidemiology Study

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome is heterogeneous, with a paucity of risk stratification tools to assist with trial design. We aimed to develop and validate mortality prediction models for patients with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. DESIGN: Leveraging additional data collection from a preplanned ancillary study (Version 1) of the multinational Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome Incidence and Epidemiology study, we identified predictors of mortality. Separate models were built for the entire Version 1 cohort, for the cohort excluding neurologic deaths, for intubated subjects, and for intubated subjects excluding neurologic deaths. Models were externally validated in a cohort of intubated pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome patients from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. SETTING: The derivation cohort represented 100 centers worldwide; the validation cohort was from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. PATIENTS: There were 624 and 640 subjects in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The model for the full cohort included immunocompromised status, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2 score, day 0 vasopressor-inotrope score and fluid balance, and PaO2/FIO2 6 hours after pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome onset. This model had good discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.82), calibration, and internal validation. Models excluding neurologic deaths, for intubated subjects, and for intubated subjects excluding neurologic deaths also demonstrated good discrimination (all area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ≥ 0.84) and calibration. In the validation cohort, models for intubated pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (including and excluding neurologic deaths) had excellent discrimination (both area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ≥ 0.85), but poor calibration. After revision, the model for all intubated subjects remained miscalibrated, whereas the model excluding neurologic deaths showed perfect calibration. Mortality models also stratified ventilator-free days at 28 days in both derivation and validation cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: We describe predictive models for mortality in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome using readily available variables from day 0 of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome which outperform severity of illness scores and which demonstrate utility for composite outcomes such as ventilator-free days. Models can assist with risk stratification for clinical trials