4 research outputs found
COVID-19 PICU guidelines: for high- and limited-resource settings
BACKGROUND: Fewer children than adults have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clinical manifestations are
distinct from those of adults. Some children particularly those with acute or chronic co-morbidities are likely to develop critical
illness. Recently, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) has been described in children with some of these patients
requiring care in the pediatric ICU.
METHODS: An international collaboration was formed to review the available evidence and develop evidence-based guidelines for
the care of critically ill children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Where the evidence was lacking, those gaps were replaced with
consensus-based guidelines.
RESULTS: This process has generated 44 recommendations related to pediatric COVID-19 patients presenting with respiratory
distress or failure, sepsis or septic shock, cardiopulmonary arrest, MIS-C, those requiring adjuvant therapies, or ECMO. Evidence to
explain the milder disease patterns in children and the potential to use repurposed anti-viral drugs, anti-inflammatory or antithrombotic
therapies are also described.
CONCLUSION: Brief summaries of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection in different regions of the world are included since few registries
are capturing this data globally. These guidelines seek to harmonize the standards and strategies for intensive care that critically ill
children with COVID-19 receive across the worl