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Objectives: Extubation failure (EF) in PICU patients is reintubation within 48, 72, or 96 hours of planned extubation (EF48, EF72, and EF96, respectively). Standardized sedation protocols, extubation readiness testing, and noninvasive respiratory support are used to improve efficient liberation from mechanical ventilation (MV). We therefore aimed to review EF rates, time to failure, and the use of noninvasive respiratory support after extubation, 2017-2021., Design: Retrospective analysis of patients admitted to PICUs contributing to the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC) database, 2017-2021., Setting: One hundred thirty-six participating PICUs., Patients: All patients admitted to participating PICUs between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, who had MV and met inclusion criteria for planned extubation., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: There were 111,229 planned extubations with 5,143 reintubations within 48 hours. The EF48, EF72, and EF96 rates were 4.6%, 5.3%, and 5.8%, respectively. Higher rates of EF were associated with age younger than 6 months, underlying genetic conditions, medical comorbidities, or cardiac surgery. Failed extubation was also associated with higher Pediatric Risk of Mortality III scores, longer duration of MV, and longer PICU and hospital lengths of stay. From 2017 to 2021, there was an increase in the use of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy after extubation from 16.6% to 20.2%., Conclusions: In the VPS 2017-2021 dataset, we have found that the overall EF rates (EF48-EF96) have improved over this 5-year period. We are not able to assess the clinical benefit of this change, but it is evident that over the same period, there has been a concomitant increase in the use of postextubation noninvasive respiratory support. Further work is needed to look at the interaction of these effects in contemporary PICU practice., Competing Interests: Drs. Soto-Campos, Palumbo, and Rice received funding from Virtual Pediatric Systems, LLC. Drs. Soto-Campos and Palumbo disclosed work for hire. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Background: This study sought to estimate the overall cumulative incidence and odds of Hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE) among critically ill children with and without exposure to invasive ventilation. In doing so, we also aimed to describe the temporal relationship between invasive ventilation and hospital-acquired VTE development., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS) data from 142 North American pediatric ICUs among children < 18 y of age from January 1, 2016-December 31, 2022. After exclusion criteria were applied, cohorts were identified by presence of invasive ventilation exposure. The primary outcome was cumulative incidence of hospital-acquired VTE, defined as limb/neck deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine whether invasive ventilation was an independent risk factor for hospital-acquired VTE development., Results: Of 691,118 children studied, 86,922 (12.4%) underwent invasive ventilation. The cumulative incidence of hospital-acquired VTE for those who received invasive ventilation was 1.9% and 0.12% for those who did not ( P < .001). The median time to hospital-acquired VTE after endotracheal intubation was 6 (interquartile range 3-14) d. In multivariate models, invasive ventilation exposure and duration were each independently associated with development of hospital-acquired VTE (adjusted odds ratio 1.64 [95% CI 1.42-1.86], P < .001; and adjusted odds ratio 1.03 [95% CI 1.02-1.03], P < .001, respectively)., Conclusions: In this multi-center retrospective review from the VPS registry, invasive ventilation exposure and duration were independent risk factors for hospital-acquired VTE among critically ill children. Children undergoing invasive ventilation represent an important target population for risk-stratified thromboprophylaxis trials., Competing Interests: The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by Daedalus Enterprises.)

The concept of "remission" in asthma has been around for a long time and it has been a controversial topic. Despite the attempts of some studies to characterize this entity, the discussion continues. In the case of asthma there is still no clear definition, either in terms of its meaning or the parameters that should be included or whether it should be divided into clinical or complete remission. To help defining these controversial concepts, SEPAR has advocated the multidisciplinary working group REMAS (REMission in ASthma). Following the Delphi methodology and with the involvement of more than 120 specialists in asthma management, this group has arrived at a consensus on the definitions of remission in asthma and establishing the criteria and characteristics that will be of use in future studies evaluating the efficacy or effectiveness of treatments., (Copyright © 2024 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Objectives: The use of monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapies is becoming the new standard of care for severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA). Even though patients may qualify for one or more of these targeted treatments, based on different clinical criteria, a global vision of mAb prescription management in a large sample of hospitals is not well characterised in Spain.The objective was to give a global vision of mAb prescription management in a large sample of hospitals in Spain., Materials and Methods: We used an aggregate data survey method to interview pulmonology specialists in a large sample of Spanish centres (90). The following treatment-related information was obtained on patients treated with mAbs: specific mAbs prescribed, treatment interruption, switch and restart and the reasons for these treatment changes., Results: mAb prescription was more frequent in females (13.3% females vs 7.4% males; p  < 0.001). There were no differences in prevalence by hospital complexity level. In contrast, there were differences by geographical area. Omalizumab was the most prescribed mAb (6.2%), followed by mepolizumab (2.9%). Discontinuation of Omalizumab (due to a lack of effectivity) and switches from this mAb to mepolizumab were more frequent. Very few restarts to the first treatment were observed after a switch from ≥2 mAbs., Conclusions: Omalizumab appeared as the most prescribed mAb in SUA but was also the most withdrawn; a specific and objective characterisation of patients with SUA, along with asthma phenotyping, and together with further evaluation of safety and effectiveness profiles, will lead to future progress in the management of SUA with mAbs., (© 2023 Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (SEPAR). Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Background: Monoclonal antibodies (mABs) have become available to treat more efficiently patients with severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA). However, the use of mABs is lower than expected given the prevalence of SUA, with significant disparities in the use of these treatments., Objective: To evaluate the proportion of patients with SUA treated with mABs in Spain, and to analyze some of the factors that could determine these prescription patterns., Methods: An analysis was performed on the data provided from the Hospitals National Health System (NHS) 2018 catalogue where Chest Diseases Department and a Hospital Pharmacy were available. Random sampling was performed to determine the sample size, stratifying proportionally by geographic area and hospital level. Characteristics of the participating sites, as well as the prescribing of mABs were collected, which included geographic area, hospital levels, prescribing medical specialities, types of clinics, and mABs prescribed., Results: Data from 90 hospitals were analyzed (Response rate 64.3%). Level 4 hospitals, the Canary Islands geographical area, and the presence of a high complexity Asthma Healthcare Unit (ACU) were associated with a higher probability that the SUA was treated with mABs., Conclusion: The map of the prescribing of mABs for SUA in Spain shows a significant variation by geographic area, hospital level, type of clinic, and the accreditation level of the ACUs. At the current time, there appears to be significant under-prescribing of these treatments.

Severe asthma is a heterogeneous syndrome with several clinical variants and often represents a complex disease requiring a specialized and multidisciplinary approach, as well as the use of multiple drugs. The prevalence of severe asthma varies from one country to another, and it is estimated that 50% of these patients present a poor control of their disease. For the best management of the patient, it is necessary a correct diagnosis, an adequate follow-up and undoubtedly to offer the best available treatment, including biologic treatments with monoclonal antibodies. With this objective, this consensus process was born, which began in its first version in 2018, whose goal is to offer the patient the best possible management of their disease in order to minimize their symptomatology. For this 2020 consensus update, a literature review was conducted by the authors. Subsequently, through a two-round interactive Delphi process, a broad panel of asthma experts from SEPAR and the regional pulmonology societies proposed the recommendations and conclusions contained in this document., (© 2022 Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (SEPAR). Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) severity-adjusted length of stay (LOS) and 24-h unplanned readmission rate., Data Source: Data were obtained from a 10-year cohort from 2009 to 2018 from the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC) database., Study Design: In this retrospective study, standardized LOS ratio was computed for each PICU as the ratio of the sum of actual LOS divided by the predicted LOS for each PICU using VPS predictive LOS model. Correlation between standardized LOS ratios and 24-h unplanned readmission rates were computed using Pearson's correlation coefficient., Principal Findings: There was practically no relationship between standardized LOS ratio and 24-h readmission rate (R 2  = 0.05)., Data Collection/extraction Methods: Not Applicable., Conclusions: Severity-adjusted LOS has no relationship with 24-h unplanned readmission rate. These findings suggest that the relationship between PICU severity-adjusted LOS and 24-h unplanned readmission rate should not be used as a balancing quality measure., (© 2022 Health Research and Educational Trust.)