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OBJECTIVES: to review and cite important individuals and events in the development of pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM). DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was performed looking for citations of the history of PCCM. This yielded 85 citations of which 46 were obtained. Thirty nine of the 85 were rejected as inappropriate either by title (e.g., pediatric emergency medicine) or because they were in a foreign language only. After review of the 46, 21 were included in this review and the others rejected as inappropriate. Textbooks of PCCM were reviewed for chapters on the history of PCCM and four were included. Forty-eight personal communications were made to individuals and four to organizations to elicit and verify information. One speech is referenced and from these sources, a total of 37 additional textbooks, monographs and chapters and 47 journal manuscripts and reference sites were found and included. SELECTION AND EXTRACTION: Materials pertinent to the specific disciplines, individuals and events in the development of CCM(Critical care medicine) and PCCM were included in this review. CONCLUSIONS: PCCM owes a great debt to the expertise in anesthesiology, neonatology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric general and cardiovascular surgery and nursing for its evolution. The modern PCCM unit and service is more the result of the need to treat and organize care for critically ill and injured patients than to any developments in technology.

Critical illness is a crisis for the total person, not just for the physical body. Patients and their loved ones often reflect on spiritual, religious, and existential questions when seriously ill. Surveys have demonstrated that most patients wish physicians would concern themselves with their patients' spiritual and religious needs, thus indicating that this part of their care has been neglected or avoided. With the well-documented desire of patients to have their caregivers include the patient's spiritual values in their health care, and the well-documented reality that caregivers are often hesitant to do so because of lack of training and comfort in this realm, clinical pastoral education for health care providers fills a significant gap in continuing education for caregivers.To report on the first 6 yrs of a unique training program in clinical pastoral education adapted for clinicians and its effect on the experience of the health care worker in the intensive care unit. We describe the didactic and reflective process whereby skills of relating to the ultimate concerns of patients and families are acquired and refined.Clinical pastoral education designed for clergy was adapted for the health care worker committed to developing skills in the diagnosis and management of spiritual distress. Clinician participants (approximately 10-12) meet weekly for 5 months (400 hrs of supervised clinical pastoral care training). The program is designed to incorporate essential elements of pastoral care training, namely experience, reflection, insight, action, and integration.This accredited program has been in continuous operation training clinicians for the past 6 yrs. Fifty-three clinicians have since graduated from the program. Graduates have incorporated clinical pastoral education training into clinical medical practice, research, and/or further training in clinical pastoral education. Outcomes reported by graduates include the following: Clinical practice became infused with new awareness, sensitivity, and language; graduates learned to relate more meaningfully to patients/families of patients and discover a richer relationship with them; spiritual distress was (newly) recognizable in patients, caregivers, and self.This unique clinical pastoral education program provides the clinician with knowledge, language, and understanding to explore and support spiritual and religious issues confronting critically ill patients and their families. We propose that incorporating spiritual care of the patient and family into clinical practice is an important step in addressing the goal of caring for the whole person.

Emphasis on a clear airway is a primary requisite for effective CPR. Airway control in the trauma victim needs special consideration of the possibility of associated cervical vertebrae and spinal cord injury; thus, modification of the patient positioning for transport is essential. Emphasis on visualization of chest movement is the most important factor in assessing adequacy of ventilation. Experience in the use of bag-valve-mask devices requires appropriate instruction and on-going practice. Small bag volume devices limit the ability to provide adequate tidal volumes and prolong inspiratory times. Tracheal intubation provides optimal airway management. In-field use of this procedure will depend upon the skill and experience of the operator. Validation of correctness of tracheal tube placement is critical; seeing the tube pass the glottic opening on laryngoscopy, bilateral and equal chest movement, auscultation of breath sounds in the chest. Methods to measure end-tidal CO2 as a valuable check for tube position is a useful adjunct but must not be relied upon. Foreign body management continues to be controversial and remains unchanged for the present; ie, the infant1 year of age the recommendations are back blows followed by chest thrusts. Above 1 year of age, abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) is recommended.

Objective: To develop clinical practice guidelines for the support of the patient and family in the adult, pediatric, or neonatal patient-centered ICU. Participants: A multidisciplinary task force of experts in critical care practice was convened from the membership of the American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) to include representation from adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care units. Evidence: The task force members reviewed the published literature. The Cochrane library, Cinahl, and MedLine were queried for articles published between 1980 and 2003. Studies were scored according to Cochrane methodology. Where evidence did not exist or was of a low level, consensus was derived from expert opinion. Consensus Process: The topic was divided into subheadings: decision making, family coping, staff stress related to family interactions, cultural support, spiritual/religious support, family visitation, family presence on rounds, family presence at resuscitation, family environment of care, and palliative care. Each section was led by one task force member. Each section draft was reviewed by the group and debated until consensus was achieved. The draft document was reviewed by a committee of the Board of Regents of the ACCM. After steering committee approval, the draft was approved by the SCCM Council and was again subjected to peer review by this journal. Conclusions: More than 300 related studies were reviewed. However, the level of evidence in most cases is at Cochrane level 4 or 5, indicating the need for further research. Forty-three recommendations are presented that include, but are not limited to, endorsement of a shared decision-making model, early and repeated care conferencing to reduce family stress and improve consistency in communication, honoring culturally appropriate requests for truth-telling and informed refusal, spiritual support, staff education and debriefing to minimize the impact of family interactions on staff health, family presence at both rounds and resuscitation, open flexible visitation, way-finding and familyfriendly signage, and family support before, during, and after a death. (Crit Care Med 2007; 35:605‐622)

Problem Statement and Background:While the psychometric properties of ObjectiveStructured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) havebeen studied, their latent structures have notbeen well characterized. This study examines afactor analytic model of a comprehensive OSCEand addresses implications for measurement ofclinical performance.Methods:An exploratory maximum likelihood factoranalysis with a Promax rotation was used toderive latent structures for the OSCE.Results:A model with two correlated factors fit thedata well. The first factor was related toPhysical Examination and History-Taking waslabeled as information gathering, while thesecond factor was related to DifferentialDiagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, and PatientInteraction and was labeled as reasoning andinformation dissemination. Case Management didnot contribute to either factor. The factorsaccounted for a total 61.6% of the variance inthe skills variables.Conclusions:Recognizing the psychometric components ofOSCEs may support and enhance the use of OSCEsfor measuring clinical competency of medicalstudents.

To replicate the 1987 survey, referring to the original 1977 study, regarding opinions about treatment for critically ill neonates.A long-term follow-up survey of American Academy of Pediatrics Massachusetts membership, maintaining the 1987 instrument, was initiated.A notable demographic shift in respondents from a majority of male practitioners in 1977 (89.6%), to 73% in 1987, to more equal numbers of men and women in 1997 (55% and 45%, respectively; p0.001; 1987 vs 1997) was apparent. Pediatricians' attitude changes over the 20-year period were relatively modest and were statistically associated with active medical intervention. In 1997, 75% of respondents rejected review committees as mediators, a marked change from 1987. Regardless of healthcare maintenance organization affiliations, 95% indicated that restrictive fiscal policies would not affect decision-making.This study indicates stability and consensus in pediatricians' attitudes toward active intervention for critically ill neonates compared with 1977 and 1987 surveys and reveals several claims to professional autonomy.

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) survivors demonstrate handicapping sensorineural hearing loss up to 50 times more frequently than normal newborns, yet little is known about the etiology of the hearing loss. Theoretically, accurate identification and triage of a particular infant based on a clinical profile would be useful. Forty NICU graduates of The Massachusetts General Hospital were selected for a detailed retrospective chart review evaluating prenatal, perinatal, and NICU medical conditions and treatment. Twenty-three patients identified with hearing loss and 17 infants with normal hearing were compared clinically. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed on a subpopulation of patients (20 with hearing loss and 16 with normal hearing). A history of ventilation was associated with hearing loss (P=.0023), but this factor was not absolute. No other clinical parameters were convincingly linked to hearing loss. We conclude that reliance on risk factors is an inadequate clinical method to select a patient for a hearing test and that each NICU survivor deserves audiometric evaluation.

The hormonal responses to surgical stress in adults are well characterized. We hypothesized that children have age-related differences in the "stress responses" to surgery. To test this hypothesis we prospectively studied 98 children (aged 2 to 20 years) undergoing elective surgical procedures under general anesthesia. Preoperative and postoperative (1 hour postoperation) blood samples were obtained and serum prolactin and cortisol concentrations were measured. Patient data were stratified by patient age and length of operation. All patients had significant (P.05) increases in serum cortisol and prolactin concentrations 1 hour postoperatively as compared with preoperative values. However, there were no significant differences in prolactin and cortisol responses to surgery based on the age, anesthetic technique, or length of operation. Females had higher mean (+/- SD) serum prolactin concentrations (78.41 +/- 62.23 micrograms/L) as compared with males postoperatively (39.8 +/- 21.75 micrograms/L) (P.05). We conclude the following: (1) children have significant increases in circulating prolactin and cortisol concentrations following surgery and anesthesia, and that those increases are not affected by age, length of surgery, or anesthetic technique; and (2) females have greater prolactin responses to surgery and anesthesia than males.

This single-blind study examined four levels of monitoring in 402 pediatric cases. Patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) oximeter and capnograph; 2) only oximeter; 3) only capnograph; or 4) neither oximeter nor capnograph data available to the anesthesia team. An anesthesiologist, not involved in patient care, observed all cases and continuously recorded hemoglobin oxygen saturation (Spo2), ECG, expired CO2, and the oximeter plethysmographic output. Mean age, weight, ASA physical status, airway management (mask or endotracheal tube), and anesthetic technique were similar in each group. Two-hundred sixty problems were documented in 153 patients. Fifty-nine events in 43 patients resulted in "major" desaturation (Spo2 less than or equal to 85% for greater than or equal to 30 s). Fifteen "major" capnograph events (esophageal intubation, disconnection, accidental extubation, or obstructed endotracheal tube) were observed in 11 patients; 8 of these also developed varying degrees of desaturation. One-hundred thirty "minor" desaturation events (Spo2 less than or equal to 95% for greater than 60 s) and 79 "minor" desaturation events (hypercarbaria or hypocarbia) were observed. A number of problems fulfilled criteria in multiple categories. Infants less than or equal to 6 months of age had the highest incidence of major desaturation events (18 of 65 [27%]) compared to toddlers 7-24 months of age or children greater than 24 months of age (P less than 0.001). Blinding the oximeter data increased the number of patients (12 vs. 31) experiencing major desaturation events (P = 0.003); blinding the capnograph data altered neither the frequency of desaturation events nor the incidence of major capnograph events.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Elevated intraabdominal pressure as a cause of anuria in the critically ill newborn with ascites should be considered after hypovolemia and other causes of intrinsic renal disease or obstruction have been excluded. In the rare patient with ascites who develops anuria, paracentesis should be considered if urine output cannot be established.

Moral and Ethical Dilemmas in Critically-Ill Newborns: A 20 Year Follow-up Survey of Massachusetts Pediatricians

Intestinal perforation has not to our knowledge been reported as a complication of staphylococcal sepsis during infancy. We report a case in which staphylococcal bacteremia resulted in multiple metastatic abscesses of the small bowel with subsequent perforation. CASE REPORT A 4-month-old boy in previously good health was admitted to a local hospital with a two-day history of discharge from both ears. He had a temperature of 38.5 C (101.4 F), was lethargic, and had a distended abdomen. His pulse was 230 beats per minute and his respiratory rate 60 breaths per minute. A chest roentgenogram showed a right lower lobe pneumonia, and an abdominal film revealed dilated loops of small and large bowel. See Image in the PDFfile

The initial acid-base status of eight survivors of Reye's syndrome was characterized by acute respiratory alkalosis (Pco2=32 mm Hg; Hco3-= 22.0 mEq/liter) while that of eight children who died was associated with metabolic acidosis as well (HCO3-=10.0 mEq/liter). Arterialinternal jugular venous ammonia concentration differences on day 1 (299 mg/100 ml) and day 2 (90 mg/ 100 ml) reflected cerebral uptake of ammonia while those on days 3 and 4 (-43 and -55 mg/100 ml) demonstrated cerebral release. Arterial blood hyperammonemia can be detoxified safely in the brain as long as the levels do not exceed approximately 300µg/100 ml. Beyond that level lactic acidosis is observed, particularly in cerebral venous drainage. Arterial blood hyperammonemia was also related to the extent of alveolar hyperventilation. These findings are very similar to those seen in experimental hyperammonemia and support the concept that neurotoxicity in children with Reye's syndrome is at least partly due to impaired oxidative metabolism secondary to hyperammonemia.

Ten infants and children with respiratory failure, receiving standard maintenance water requirements, were treated on 13 occasions with intravenously given furosemide (1 to 2 mg/kg) because of continued impairment of oxygenation despite conventional therapy. Pulmonary auscultation and radiographs were normal or typical of the primary diagnosis. After a five-fold increase in urine output the mean Po2 rose from 61 mm Hg at a mean FiO2 of 0.7 to 140 mm Hg at an FiO2, of 0.65. The Pco2 decreased from 46 to 38 mm Hg. Interstitial pulmonary edema in these patients can be related to both their lung disease and impaired water tolerance during ventilatory therapy.

To determine whether prematurely born infants with a history of idiopathic apneic episodes are more prone than other infants to life-threatening apnea during recovery from anesthesia, the authors prospectively studied 214 infants (173 full term, 41 premature) who received anesthesia. Fifteen premature infants had a preanesthetic history of idiopathic apnea. Six of these required mechanical ventilation because of idiopathic apneic episodes during emergence from anesthesia. Two were ventilated for other reasons, and seven recovered normally. Infants ventilated for apnea were younger (postnatal age 1.6 +/- 1.2 months, mean +/- SD; conceptual age 38.6 +/- 3.0 weeks) than those who recovered normally (postnatal age 5.6 +/- 2.7 months; conceptual age 55.1 +/- 11.3 weeks) (P less than 0.01). No other premature or full-term infant was ventilated because of postoperative apneic episodes. The authors conclude that anesthetics may unmask a defect in ventilatory control of prematurely born infants younger than 41-46 weeks conceptual age who have a preanesthetic history of idiopathic apnea.

Arterial blood gases and regional lung function, measured with a 133xenon technique, were used to evalute the physiological defects and follow the natural history of 16 infants with lobar hyperinflation ("emphysema"). Hypoxemia was due to V/Q inequality at rest. Worsening of hypoxemia (mean Pao2 delta--26 mm Hg) with crying was due to shunting as a consequence of cessation of ventilation in the involved lobe. Surgery was necessary in three patients. Two deaths were caused by bronchopulmonary dysplasia after respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). In 12 of 14 infants, lung function was normal between the ages of 5 days and 1 year. Pediatrics, 59:1012-1018, 1977, LOBAR EMPHYSEMA, BLOOD GASES, REGIONAL LUNG FUNCTION.

The efficacy of theophylline in preventing severe apnea was evaluated in 17 low-birthweight infants (mean weight, 1,400 gm). Apnea was detected and accurately quantified by 13-hour pneumogram recordings and correlated with serum theophylline levels. Nursing observations coupled with on-line alarm systems detected only 39% of severe apneic episodes as compared to the pneumogram recording technique. Theophylline in six hourly oral doses (1.5 to 4.0 mg/kg) yielded two-hour serum concentrations of 6.6 to 11.Oµg/ml which completely controlled apneic spells exceeding 20 seconds in duration and markedly reduced 10- 19-second apneic episodes and any resultant bradycardia. At these serum levels, toxicity was not observed. Therapy with theophylline should be instituted at a dose of 2 to 3 mg/kg every six hours and the optimum therapeutic dose should be individualized as determined by objective quantitation of apnea and serum theophylline concentration.

Expired ventilation (VE), tidal volume (VT), frequency (f), and alveolar PCO2 (PACO2) were examined in six normal infants at 41 to 52 weeks post-conceptional age and in two infants who were apneic at birth. Their response to breathing 5% carbon dioxide in air and to 100% oxygen in quiet sleep were compared to those in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. VE in normal infants was 259 ml/kg/min in REM and 200.2 ml/kg/min in quiet sleep with the difference being due to decreased carbon dioxide production and to decreased dead space. VE increased 34.4 ml/kg/min/mm Hg of PCO2 elevation with 5% carbon dioxide breathing during REM and was not significantly different during quiet sleep. During oxygen breathing VE fell by 32.7% at 30 seconds before increasing again. In the affected infants, VE and PACO2 during REM at 1 and 4 months were normal. At 1 month, during quiet sleep, each infant became apneic and PACO2 rose 9 and 8 mm Hg/min respectively. At this time mechanical ventilation was begun. At 4 months, during quiet sleep, VE was 0.064 and 0.063 ml/kg/min at PACO2 of 66 mm Hg in each infant. The change was due entirely to a decrease in VT to 2.3 and 2.5 ml/kg. At this time 5% carbon dioxide breathing given during normal ventilation in REM produced an abrupt fall in VT to 2.0 and 2.2 ml/kg with no change in frequency. Oxygen breathing during REM at one month had no effect but at 4 months produced apnea requiring mechanical ventilation after one minute. The findings suggest that the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide is (1) important in initiation of extrauterine ventilation and (2) in sustaining ventilation particularly in quiet sleep. It is not necessary in sustaining ventilation awake or in REM sleep and it represents a balance between the stimulatory and depressant effects of carbon dioxide on the central nervous system.

The attitudes of Massachusetts pediatricians concerning life-saving therapies for newborns were surveyed. The sample was drawn from the membership list of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Of the sample population of 801 physicians, 449 (56%) responded. Three hypothetical cases were presented with treatment options: (1) An infant with Down syndrome and duodenal atresia, (2) an infant with meningomyelocele and microcephaly and, (3) an extremely low birth weight infant of 700 g and 28 weeks' gestation suffering from birth asphyxia. For case 1, 73% of the physicians recommended surgical correction of the duodenal atresia. Of these, 68% would seek a court order if the parents did not consent to surgery. For case 2, 53% of the physicians recommended surgical repair of the meningomyelocele. For case 3, 90% of the physicians recommended continued resuscitation of the infant and referral to an intensive care unit. Religious affiliation and age were factors influencing these clinical recommendations, with Catholic and younger physicians tending to opt for more aggressive medical intervention. The great majority of physicians (93%) indicated that the economic situation of the family should not affect a decision regarding life-saving therapy. A majority (62%) of the physicians approved of infant care review committees with a primary advisory role. Comparison with earlier attitudinal surveys suggests that pediatricians today are more willing to intervene medically on behalf of infant patients than previously.

Physician trainees working in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) were interviewed early in their training experience, at the end of their training, and 1 to 12 months after their training had ended. Pediatricians responded significantly differently from anesthesiologists: they commented more often about their own feelings, and less often about procedural-intellectual-technical matters as contrasted with feelings and relationships. Pediatricians were also more likely than anesthesiologists to mention their own emotional reactions to ill children, their sense that patient death meant physician failure, and their dismay early in the training period about the stressful intensity of the work. Physicians who were parents differed from those who were not parents by commenting more frequently about their work with the parents of patients, and about the necessity for teamwork. Physician trainees interviewed early in the training period were less reflective about the experience, and less likely to comment on feelings and relationships, compared to those interviewed later. Analysis of the sources of satisfaction and discontent with work in the ICU, as stated by the physician trainees, has been useful in efforts to improve the climate of work and learning in the unit, and to provide optimal patient care.

Work relationships among staff in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) are probably of critical importance to patient care, as well as to staff well-being. Group discussions were introduced in one ICU to encourage the staff to raise issues about work relationships and about the effectiveness of the care they were providing. Three kinds of issues recurred: work roles and functions, leadership and decision making, and conflict arising from stereotypic assumptions about opposed groups. The frequency of conflicts rooted in these issues demonstrated their origin in factors over and above individual "personality problems." While there were clear limitations to what such group meetings could accomplish, they did provide a forum for the expression of tensions and anxieties, the identification and resolution of some conflict, and the initiation of needed policy change. The authors encourage further experimentation with this practice, and studies of its effectiveness.

Pneumopericardium with cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening emergency in the newborn infant. The case fatality rate is high (75% in 41 documented cases in the English literature), and diagnosis is often delayed (in 13 of 29 deaths the pneumopericardium was diagnosed postmortem). Treatment is frequently unsatisfactory, and recurrence of the pneumopericardium with tamponade is likely after initial pericardial needle aspiration—an incidence of 53%. A case of pneumopericardium in a critically ill newborn is reported; the details of successful management, using a large bore intrapericardial catheter with continuous drainage, are discussed.

To determine the prevalence and clinical consequences of hypocalcemia in pediatric intensive care unit patients, we prospectively studied calcium homeostasis in 145 of these patients. The total serum calcium concentration was measured in all patients. The serum ionized calcium concentration was measured in blood samples collected from those 71 (49%) patients who had low total serum calcium values (less than 8.5 mg/dl (2.12 mmol/L). Of the 71 patients, 26 (36.6%) had ionized hypocalcemia. Therefore the prevalence of ionized hypocalcemia was at least 17.9% (26/145). Death occurred in 8 (31%) of 26 patients with ionized hypocalcemia versus 3 (2.5%) of 119 patients with normocalcemia (p less than 0.0001). However, the severity of illness score was higher (p less than 0.05) in the children with ionized hypocalcemia than in normocalcemic children (mean Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System score 33 +/- 17 vs 22 +/- 11, respectively). More of the children with ionized hypocalcemia had sepsis (p = 0.0299) and they required the administration of vasopressor agents more often (p = 0.0002) than their normocalcemic counterparts. Of the 26 patients with ionized hypocalcemia, 17 (65.4%) had biochemical evidence of either absolute or relative hypoparathyroidism, determined by means of an immunoradiometric assay that measures only biologically active parathyroid hormone. We conclude the following: (1) ionized hypocalcemia is common in severely ill children. (2) Patients with ionized hypocalcemia have a higher mortality rate than those with normocalcemia; however, because the former are more severely ill, no causality is apparent or suggested. (3) Functional hypoparathyroidism may occur in critically ill children.