The number of children requiring pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission for severe acute asthma (SAA) around the world has increased.ObjectivesWe investigated whether this trend in SAA PICU admissions is present in the Netherlands.MethodsA multicenter retrospective cohort study across all tertiary care PICUs in the Netherlands. Inclusion criteria were children (2‐18 years) hospitalized for SAA between 2003 and 2013. Data included demographic data, asthma diagnosis, treatment, and mortality.ResultsIn the 11‐year study period 590 children (660 admissions) were admitted to a PICU with a threefold increase in the number of admissions per year over time. The severity of SAA seemed unchanged, based on the first blood gas, length of stay and mortality rate (0.6%). More children received highflow nasal cannula (P < 0.001) and fewer children needed invasive ventilation (P < 0.001). In 58% of the patients the maximal intravenous (IV) salbutamol infusion rate during PICU admission was 1 mcg/kg/min. However, the number of patients treated with IV salbutamol in the referring hospitals increased significantly over time (P = 0.005). The proportion of steroid‐naïve patients increased from 35% to 54% (P = 0.004), with a significant increase in both age groups (2‐4 years [P = 0.026] and 5‐17 years [P = 0.036]).ConclusionsThe number of children requiring PICU admission for SAA in the Netherlands has increased. We speculate that this threefold increase is explained by an increasing number of steroid‐naïve children, in conjunction with a lowered threshold for PICU admission, possibly caused by earlier use of salbutamol IV in the referring hospitals.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is associated with high mortality rates and significant pulmonary morbidity, mainly due to disrupted lung development related to herniation of abdominal organs into the chest. Pulmonary hypertension is a major contributor to both mortality and morbidity, however, treatment modalities are limited. Novel prenatal and postnatal interventions, such as fetal surgery and medical treatments, are currently under investigation. Until now, the perinatal stabilisation period immediately after birth has been relatively overlooked, although optimising support in these early stages may be vital in improving outcomes. Moreover, physiological parameters obtained from the perinatal stabilisation period could serve as early predictors of adverse outcomes, thereby facilitating both prevention and early treatment of these conditions. In this review, we focus on the perinatal stabilisation period by discussing the current delivery room guidelines in infants born with CDH, the physiological changes occurring during the fetal-to-neonatal transition in CDH, novel delivery room strategies and early predictors of adverse outcomes. The combination of improvements in the perinatal stabilisation period and early prediction of adverse outcomes may mitigate the need for specific postnatal management strategies.copyright.on July 4, 2020 by guest. Protected by

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<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The oxygenation index (OI) is a marker for respiratory disease severity and adverse neonatal outcomes. The oxygen saturation index (OSI) is an alternative that allows for continuous noninvasive monitoring, but evidence for clinical use in critically ill neonates is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the OSI as compared to the OI in term neonates with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted including all live-born infants with an isolated CDH between June 2017 and December 2020. Paired values of the OI and OSI in the first 24 h after birth were collected. The relation between OI and OSI measurements was assessed, taking into account arterial pH, body temperature, and preductal versus postductal location of oxygen saturation measurement or arterial blood sampling. The predictive values for pulmonary hypertension, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy, and survival at discharge were evaluated. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of 33 subjects included, 398 paired values of the OI (median 5.8 [3.3–17.2]) and OSI (median 7.3 [3.6–14.4]) were collected. The OI and OSI correlated strongly (<i>r</i> = 0.77, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). The OSI values corresponding to the clinically relevant OI values (10, 15, 20, and 40) were 8.9, 10.9, 12.9, and 20.9, respectively. The predictive values of the OI and OSI were comparable for all adverse neonatal outcomes. No difference was found in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the OI and the OSI for adverse neonatal outcomes. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The OSI could replace the OI in clinical practice in infants with a CDH.