Objective
The epidemiology of in-hospital death after pediatric sepsis has not been well characterized. We investigated the timing, cause, mode, and attribution of death in children with severe sepsis, hypothesizing that refractory shock leading to early death is rare in the current era.
Design
Retrospective observational study.
Setting
Emergency departments and intensive care units at two academic children’s hospitals.
Patients
Seventy-nine patients <18 years-old treated for severe sepsis/septic shock in 2012–2013 who died prior to hospital discharge.
Measurements and Main Results
Time to death from sepsis recognition, cause and mode of death, and attribution of death to sepsis were determined from medical records. Organ dysfunction was assessed via daily PELOD-2 scores for seven days preceding death with an increase ≥5 defined as worsening organ dysfunction. The median time to death was 8 (IQR 1–12) days with 25%, 35%, and 49% of cumulative deaths within 1, 3, and 7 days of sepsis recognition, respectively. The most common cause of death was refractory shock (34%), then MODS after shock recovery (27%), neurologic injury (19%), single-organ respiratory failure (9%), and non-septic comorbidity (6%). Early deaths (≤3 days) were mostly due to refractory shock in young, previously healthy patients while MODS predominated after three days. Mode of death was withdrawal in 72%, unsuccessful CPR in 22%, and irreversible loss of neurologic function in 6%. Ninety percent of deaths were attributable to acute or chronic manifestations of sepsis. Only 23% had a rise in PELOD-2 that indicated worsening organ dysfunction.
Conclusions
Refractory shock remains a common cause of death in pediatric sepsis, especially for early deaths. Later deaths were mostly attributable to MODS, neurologic, and respiratory failure after life-sustaining therapies were limited. A pattern of persistent, rather than worsening, organ dysfunction preceded most deaths.