Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Apr;37(4):1456-62.
doi: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e31819cef0c.

Children with chronic conditions in pediatric intensive care units located in predominantly French-speaking regions: Prevalence and implications on rehabilitation care need and utilization

Robin Cremer  1 , Francis Leclerc, Jacques Lacroix, Dominique Ploin; GFRUP/RMEF Chronic Diseases in PICU Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Free PMC article

Children with chronic conditions in pediatric intensive care units located in predominantly French-speaking regions: Prevalence and implications on rehabilitation care need and utilization

Robin Cremer et al. Crit Care Med. 2009 Apr.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of chronic conditions and/or disability in intensive care units admitting children (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit [PICU]) or both neonates and children (Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit [NPICU]) and to describe available rehabilitation resources.

Design: A cross-sectional study on two separate days, using a web questionnaire.

Setting: NPICU/PICUs affiliated to the Groupe Francophone de Réanimation et Urgences Pédiatriques and the Réseau Mère-Enfant de la Francophonie.

Patients: Children >1 month of gestationally corrected age.

Measurements and main results: Disability was defined as a Pediatric Overall Performance Category >or=3 before admission and chronic conditions as hospitalization since birth or the presence before admission of any condition requiring ongoing pediatric subspecialty care that was expected to last >or=12 months. Intensivists indicated what rehabilitation services they would have ideally prescribed ("perceived needs") and those provided. Of 45 affiliated units, 8 PICUs and 15 NPICUs participated. Staff included or had access to a psychologist (11 and 5, respectively), a social worker (10 and 3), a physiotherapist (11 and 12), a "psychomotrician" (2 and 8), a child educator (1 and 6), and a speech-language pathologist (0 and 6). Among 289 recorded intensive care unit-days, 236 were analyzed (excluding those for children admitted after surgery): 57 concerned children hospitalized since birth and 179 children admitted from home. Among these 179 recorded intensive care unit-days, 107 concerned children with chronic conditions (including 50 concerning disabled children) and 72 previously healthy children. Thus, prevalence of chronic conditions, including children hospitalized since birth, was 67%. Rehabilitation services included respiratory physical therapy (552 visits), musculoskeletal physical therapy (71), neurologic physical therapy (37), rehabilitation for swallowing (11), and for speech-language disorders (1), representing 79% of perceived needs.

Conclusions: Prevalence of chronic conditions in NPICU/PICU was 67%. More attention must be paid to the rehabilitation care needs of patients during their NPICU/PICU stay and after discharge.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure. Study flow chart
*: Feudtner et al. (5) – POPC: Pediatric Overall Performance Category (19).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Briassoulis G, Filippou O, Mavrikiou M, et al. Current trends of clinical and genetic characteristics influencing the resource use and the nurse-patient balance in an intensive care setting. J Crit Care. 2005;20:139–146. - PubMed
    1. Briassoulis G, Filippou O, Natsi L, et al. Acute and chronic paediatric intensive care patients: current trends and perspectives on resource utilization. QJM. 2004;97:507–518. - PubMed
    1. Bethell CD, Read D, Neff J, et al. Comparison of the children with special health care needs screener to the questionnaire for identifying children with chronic conditions--revised. Ambul Pediatr. 2002;2:49–57. - PubMed
    1. Bethell CD, Read D, Stein RE, et al. Identifying children with special health care needs: development and evaluation of a short screening instrument. Ambul Pediatr. 2002;2:38–48. - PubMed
    1. Feudtner C, Christakis DA, Connell FA. Pediatric deaths attributable to complex chronic conditions: a population-based study of Washington State, 1980–1997. Pediatrics. 2000;106:205–209. - PubMed

Publication types