A proposed disability complexity scale to describe the multi-facted needs of disabled children and young people.

There are validated measures of functioning for disabled children but no recognised scale of complexity. Many disabled children have multi-faceted needs. All need to be addressed to achieve best participation and quality of life. Aim: To develop a scale of complexity that is easy to apply in a range of clinic settings, relevant to individual clinical care and service planning. Method : Data were analysed from a retrospective review of 8392 structured electronic clinic letters from 1999 children accessing the paediatric disability clinics in Sunderland, north-east England, June 2007-May 2012. The numbers of health conditions (C), technology dependencies (T), family- reported issues (F) and need for round the clock care (R) were calculated and compared for those with different conditions. Results : The 699 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) compared to the 1299 without ID had significantly more: Needs overall (mean 5.81, range 1-23 with ID; mean 2.22, range 0-19 without ID) Health conditions (mean 5.41, range 0-18 with ID; mean 2.40, range 0-12 without ID) Technology dependencies (mean 0.16, range 0-4 with ID; mean 0.03, range 0-2 without ID) Family reported issues (mean 0.53, range 0-5 with ID; mean 0.19; range 0-5 without ID) and were Need for round the clock care (mean 0.18, range 0-1 with ID; mean 0.02, range 0-1 without ID)p-value <0.0001 in all cases. Children with ID plus cerebral palsies and epilepsies had more than double the number of needs overall than those without. The group who died had the highest burden of needs overall (mean 15, p-value <0.05). Conclusion: A disability complexity scale has been proposed and field-tested. It is a practical way to quantify complexity in a way that identifies the resources required to care for individuals as well as to commission and design services for populations of disabled children and young people

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Tocilizumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of tocilizumab in adult patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 with both hypoxia and systemic inflammation. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. Those trial participants with hypoxia (oxygen saturation &lt;92% on air or requiring oxygen therapy) and evidence of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein ≥75 mg/L) were eligible for random assignment in a 1:1 ratio to usual standard of care alone versus usual standard of care plus tocilizumab at a dose of 400 mg–800 mg (depending on weight) given intravenously. A second dose could be given 12–24 h later if the patient's condition had not improved. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered with ISRCTN (50189673) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04381936). Findings: Between April 23, 2020, and Jan 24, 2021, 4116 adults of 21 550 patients enrolled into the RECOVERY trial were included in the assessment of tocilizumab, including 3385 (82%) patients receiving systemic corticosteroids. Overall, 621 (31%) of the 2022 patients allocated tocilizumab and 729 (35%) of the 2094 patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·85; 95% CI 0·76–0·94; p=0·0028). Consistent results were seen in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including those receiving systemic corticosteroids. Patients allocated to tocilizumab were more likely to be discharged from hospital within 28 days (57% vs 50%; rate ratio 1·22; 1·12–1·33; p&lt;0·0001). Among those not receiving invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, patients allocated tocilizumab were less likely to reach the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (35% vs 42%; risk ratio 0·84; 95% CI 0·77–0·92; p&lt;0·0001). Interpretation: In hospitalised COVID-19 patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation, tocilizumab improved survival and other clinical outcomes. These benefits were seen regardless of the amount of respiratory support and were additional to the benefits of systemic corticosteroids. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Executive function and sleep problems in childhood epilepsy

Pediatric epilepsy has been reported to be associated with both sleep problems and cognitive deficits. In turn, in healthy children, poorer sleep has been associated with deficits in cognitive functioning. We hypothesized that poor sleep in childhood epilepsy may contribute to cognitive deficits. Using actigraphy, we objectively measured the sleep of children with epilepsy alongside that of healthy controls. In contrast to previous reports, we did not find any differences in objectively measured sleep between children with epilepsy and healthy controls. However, significant deficits in cognitive functioning were demonstrated that were not explained by differences in sleep