Modification of Pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score Using Acute Kidney Injury Diagnostic Criteria

Abstract

Objectives: To develop a modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score using the acute kidney injury diagnostic criteria and evaluate its performance in predicting mortality.

Design: A single-center retrospective study.

Setting: Fourteen-bed PICU in a tertiary care academic children's hospital.

Patients: Critically ill children admitted to the PICU between January 2017 and September 2019 with at least more than two serum creatinine measurements-one for baseline and the other within the first 48 hours of PICU admission.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: A total of 755 patients were included. Overall, 265 patients were diagnosed with acute kidney injury using the current acute kidney injury diagnostic criteria. The overall PICU mortality was 5.8%. Patients with acute kidney injury required more vasoactive-inotropic drugs and showed higher illness severity scores, including the Pediatric Risk of Mortality III, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2, pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, and modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, as well as higher PICU mortality than patients without acute kidney injury (p < 0.001). As acute kidney injury stages increase, PICU mortality also increased (p < 0.001). Based on multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and sex, the modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was an independent prognostic factor of PICU mortality. The modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score showed better performance in predicting PICU mortality (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.821; 95% CI, 0.759-0.882) than other severity scores (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [95% CI] of Pediatric Risk of Mortality III, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2, and pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores: 0.788 [0.723-0.853], 0.735 [0.663-0.807], and 0.785 [0.718-0.853], respectively).

Conclusions: Acute kidney injury is prevalent and associated with poor clinical outcomes in critically ill children. The modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, based on the acute kidney injury diagnostic criteria, showed improved performance in predicting PICU mortality. The modified pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score could be a promising prognostic factor for critically ill children.