Objective To assess the safety and efficacy of a recruitment maneuver, the Open Lung Tool, in pediatric patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design Prospective cohort study using a repeated-measures design. Setting Pediatric intensive care unit at an urban tertiary children's hospital. Patients Twenty-one ventilated pediatric patients with acute lung injury. Intervention Recruitment maneuver using incremental positive end-expiratory pressure. Measurements and Main Results The ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen over fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FIO2 ratio) increased 53% immediately after the recruitment maneuver. The median PaO2/FIO2 ratio increased from 111 (interquartile range, 73–266) prerecruitment maneuver to 170 (interquartile range, 102–341) immediately postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01). Improvement in PaO2/FIO2 ratio persisted with an increase of 80% over the baseline at 4 hrs and 40% at 12 hrs after the recruitment maneuver. The median PaO2/FIO2 ratio was 200 (interquartile range, 116–257) 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .05) and 156 (interquartile range, 127–236) 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01). Compared with prerecruitment maneuver, the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) was significantly decreased at 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver but not immediately after the recruitment maneuver. The median PaCO2 was 49 torr (interquartile range, 44–60) prerecruitment maneuver compared with 48 torr (interquartile range, 43–50) immediately postrecruitment maneuver (p = .69), 45 torr (interquartile range, 41–50) at 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01), and 43 torr (interquartile range, 38–51) at 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver. Recruitment maneuvers were well tolerated except for significant increase in PaCO2 in three patients. There were no serious adverse events related to the recruitment maneuver. Conclusions Using the modified open lung tool recruitment maneuver, pediatric patients with acute lung injury may safely achieve improved oxygenation and ventilation with these benefits potentially lasting up to 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver.

The addition of a dexmedetomidine infusion prior to our propofol MRI sedation protocol resulted in fewer sedation-related adverse events, particularly upper airway obstruction. Further studies are needed to evaluate the potential for a reduction on adverse events with this drug combination.

Objective Despite declining mortality, ARDS is still involved in up to one third of pediatric intensive care deaths. The recently convened Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference has outlined research priorities for the field, which include the need for accurate bedside risk-stratification of patients. We aimed to develop a simple yet robust model of mortality risk among pediatric patients with ARDS to facilitate the targeted application of high-risk investigational therapies and stratification for enrollment in clinical trials. Design Prospective, multi-center cohort. Setting Five academic pediatric intensive care units. Patients 308 children ages >1 month and ≤ 18 years, admitted to the intensive care unit, with bilateral infiltrates on chest x-ray and P/F ratio <300 in the clinical absence of left atrial hypertension. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results Twenty clinical variables were recorded in the following 6 categories: demographics, medical history, oxygenation, ventilation, radiographic imaging, and multi-organ dysfunction. Data were measured 0–24 and 48–72 hours after ARDS onset (Day 1 and Day 3) and examined for associations with hospital mortality. Among 308 enrolled patients, mortality was 17%. Children with a history of cancer and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) had higher mortality (47% vs. 11%, p<0.001). Oxygenation index (OI), the P/F ratio, extrapulmonary organ dysfunction, PRISM-3, and positive cumulative fluid balance were each associated with mortality. Using two statistical approaches, we found that a parsimonious model of mortality risk using only OI and cancer/HSCT history performed as well as other more complex models that required additional variables. Conclusions In the pediatric intensive care unit, OI and cancer/HSCT history can be used on ARDS Day 1 or Day 3 to predict hospital mortality without the need for more complex models. These findings may simplify risk assessment for clinical trials, counseling families, and high-risk interventions such as extracorporeal life support.