Hospital Readmissions in Children with Pulmonary Hypertension: A Multi-Institutional Analysis

The many challenges to the field of pediatric pulmonology posed by pediatric pulmonary hypertension and the path forward

“…The prevalence of PH as a diagnosis on admission has significantly increased in the 21st century as has the cost of hospitalization 15 . Mortality is difficult to assess but in a recent intensive care unit (ICU)‐based study, at least 144 pediatric PH patients were dying annually as recently as 2015 and this study excluded patients dying in neonatal ICU settings or before admission to the ICU 16 .…”

EDITORIAL: The Many Challenges to the Field of Pediatric Pulmonology Posed by Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension and the Path Forward

“…The prevalence of PH as a diagnosis on admission has significantly increased in the 21 st century as has the cost of hospitalization. 15 Mortality is difficult to assess but in a recent ICU-based study, at least 144 pediatric PH patients were dying annually as recently as 2015 and this study excluded patients dying in neonatal ICU settings or prior to admission to the ICU. 16 We project that 200-500 pediatric patients with PH die per year in the USA and PH likely contributes to the cause of death in most.…”

Intensive care management of right ventricular failure and pulmonary hypertension crises

“…Because right ventricular failure (RVF) is a common reason for patient death, it is imperative physicians become familiar with the basic pathophysiology and treatment options for addressing RVF. With an increasing number of patients who carry the diagnosis of PH being admitted, particularly to large urban teaching hospitals, it is becoming more likely that these patients will be encountered in any given intensive care unit (ICU) 15,16 . These patients are at increased risk of death compared to general ICU patients, with an overall mortality rate of between 5.9% and 6.8% for patients with PH as compared to 0.6% to 2.3% for those without PH 16,17 .…”