A Clinical and Physiological Prospective Observational Study on the Management of Pediatric Shock in the Post-Fluid Expansion as Supportive Therapy Trial Era*

OBJECTIVES: Fluid bolus resuscitation in African children is harmful. Little research has evaluated physiologic effects of maintenance-only fluid strategy. DESIGN: We describe the efficacy of fluid-conservative resuscitation of septic shock using case-fatality, hemodynamic, and myocardial function endpoints. SETTING: Pediatric wards of Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda, and Kilifi County Hospital, Kenya, conducted between October 2013 and July 2015. Data were analysed from August 2016 to July 2019. PATIENTS: Children (>= 60 d to <= 12 yr) with severe febrile illness and clinical signs of impaired perfusion. INTERVENTIONS: IV maintenance fluid (4 mL/kg/hr) unless children had World Health Organization (WHO) defined shock (>= 3 signs) where they received two fluid boluses (20 mL/kg) and transfusion if shock persisted. Clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, and laboratory data were collected at presentation, during resuscitation and on day 28. Outcome measures were 48-hour mortality, normalization of hemodynamics, and cardiac biomarkers. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirty children (70% males) were recruited, six had WHO shock, all of whom died (6/6) versus three of 24 deaths in the non-WHO shock. Median fluid volume received by survivors and nonsurvivors were similar (13 [interquartile range (IQR), 9-32] vs 30 mL/kg [28-61 mL/kg], z = 1.62, p = 0.23). By 24 hours, we observed increases in median (IQR) stroke volume index (39 mL/m(2) [32-42 mL/m(2)] to 47 mL/m(2) [41-49 mL/m(2)]) and a measure of systolic function: fractional shortening from 30 (27-33) to 34 (31-38) from baseline including children managed with no-bolus. Children with WHO shock had a higher mean level of cardiac troponin (t = 3.58; 95% CI, 1.24-1.43; p = 0.02) and alpha-atrial natriuretic peptide (t = 16.5; 95% CI, 2.80-67.5; p < 0.01) at admission compared with non-WHO shock. Elevated troponin (> 0.1 mu g/mL) and hyperlactatemia (> 4 mmol/L) were putative makers predicting outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Maintenance-only fluid therapy normalized clinical and myocardial perturbations in shock without compromising cardiac or hemodynamic function whereas fluid-bolus management of WHO shock resulted in high fatality. Troponin and lactate biomarkers of cardiac dysfunction could be promising outcome predictors in pediatric septic shock in resource-limited settings.

Automated summary

This study investigates the efficacy of fluid-conservative resuscitation in African children with septic shock. The results demonstrate that maintenance-only fluid therapy improves clinical and myocardial disturbances without compromising cardiac function, while fluid-bolus management leads to a higher fatality rate.