This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Sepsis risk prediction tool assessed
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Using a risk prediction model may be a good way to assess sepsis risk in pediatric cancer patients within 24 hours of hospital admission, according to study data published online.
María Elena Santolaya, MD, and colleagues in the department of pediatrics, Hospital Luis Calvo Mackenna, Universidad de Chile, quantified children’s risk for sepsis by looking at three factors: serum C-reactive protein (CRP) more than 90 mg/L; interleukin-8 (IL-8) more than 300 pg/mL; and age of at least 12 years, within the first day of admission. The investigators then applied this validation tool to the patients with pediatric cancer who visited a hospital in Chile between April 2009 and July 2011.
“A total of 447 high risk for fever and neutropenia episodes were studied, of which 76 (17%) had a diagnosis of severe sepsis,” the researchers wrote. “The combination of age greater than 12 years, CRP greater than 90 mg/L and IL-8 greater than 300 pg/mL at admission and/or 24 hours in the new cohort identified a risk for severe sepsis ranging from 7% to 46%.”
The researchers noted some study limitations, specifically the wide gap in level of risk.
Regardless of this limitation, the researchers said their findings have prompted them to use the model to assess patients’ sepsis risk and help guide management decisions.
Disclosure:The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts