Consensus Report by the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators and Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Consortium Joint Working Committees on Supportive Care Guidelines for Management of Veno-Occlusive Disease in Children and Adolescents, Part 3: Focus on Cardiorespiratory Dysfunction, Infections, Liver Dysfunction, and Delirium

Cardiovascular Disease After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Adults: JACC: CardioOncology State-of-the-Art Review

The use of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has expanded in the last 4 decades to include an older and more comorbid population. These patients face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease after HCT. The risk varies depending on several factors, including the type of transplant (autologous or allogeneic). Many therapies used in HCT have the potential to be cardiotoxic. Cardiovascular complications after HCT include atrial arrhythmias, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and pericardial effusions. Before HCT, patients should undergo a comprehensive cardiovascular assessment, with ongoing surveillance tailored to their individual level of cardiovascular risk. In this review, we provide an overview of cardiotoxicity after HCT and outline our approach to risk assessment and ongoing care.

Interprofessional Team-based Care of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Patient With Hepatic Veno-occlusive Disease/Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome

Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a well-recognized complication of allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The diagnosis and treatment of VOD/SOS require the involvement of multiple specialists covering a wide range of expertise. Interprofessional team-based medical care is standard practice for patients undergoing HCT and has been shown to improve patient and provider satisfaction, enhance efficiency, and improve patient outcomes, particularly for patients in complex medical situations like those with VOD/SOS post-HCT. Interdisciplinary team-based models focus on the synthesis and harmonization of knowledge and methods from different disciplines to create an integrative approach to patient care that both maximizes the expertise of each involved specialist and encourages thought beyond each specialist's discipline. Multidisciplinary team members provide additive support and work collaboratively with the core team to provide knowledge from their field. The composition of the interdisciplinary HCT team should center on the needs of the patient and institutional resources and involve the expertise of additional multidisciplinary team members based on clinical needs. This review focuses on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team-based care of patients with VOD/SOS post-HCT and provides an example of a collaborative VOD/SOS team that includes transplant physicians, nurses, pharmacists, nutrition/dietary specialists, and intensive care teams.

Cardiovascular disease and its management in children and adults undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for many malignancies, hemoglobinopathies, metabolic diseases, bone marrow failure syndromes, and primary immune deficiencies. Despite the significant improvement in survival afforded by HSCT, the therapy is associated with major short and long-term morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular complications such as cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, and pericardial effusions are increasingly recognized as potential outcomes following HSCT. The incidence of cardiac complications is related to various factors such as age, co-morbid medical conditions, whether patients received cardiotoxic chemotherapy prior to HSCT, the type of HSCT (autologous versus allogeneic), and the specific conditioning regimen. Thus, the cardiovascular evaluation has become a core component of the pre-transplant assessment, however, the practice differs from center to center as national guidelines and contemporary high-quality studies are lacking. We review the incidence of cardiotoxicity in pediatric and adult HSCT, potential mechanisms of injury, and effects on long-term outcomes. We also discuss the possible therapeutic approaches when disease arises, as well as the indications and need for surveillance before, during, and after transplantation.

Improved detection of sinusoidal obstructive syndrome using pediatric-AYA diagnostic criteria and severity grading

New diagnostic criteria and severity grading for sinusoidal obstructive syndrome (SOS) among pediatric and adolescent young adult (AYA) patients have been recently endorsed by international consensus. The extent to which these have been adopted in the US remains unclear. We sought to assess the potential impact via retrospective application of these criteria among patients treated at a large academic center in the United States. This is a single center retrospective study of pediatric-AYA patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) between July 2009 and 2019. The incidence of SOS was assessed using historic Baltimore and Seattle diagnostic criteria and compared with more recent guidelines (pEBMT) as proposed by the Paediatric Diseases Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Among 226 patients, application of the pEBMT diagnostic criteria was associated with a higher incidence (15.9%) and earlier time to diagnosis of SOS (by 2.5-3 days) compared with the modified Seattle (12.3%), and Baltimore (6.6%) criteria, respectively. The pEBMT criteria were sensitive and highly specific. Refractory thrombocytopenia was present in 75% of patients at diagnosis. Approximately 61% of patients with SOS were anicteric at diagnosis, though the majority (94.4%) developed hyperbilirubinemia as SOS progressed over a median time of 4 (1-57) days. Application of pEBMT criteria may have resulted in earlier indication for definitive treatment by 3 days. Timely diagnosis and administration of definitive treatment of SOS has been associated with improved outcomes. Prospective studies may better characterize the risk factors and natural course of SOS using pEBMT criteria.

Delirium and Developmental Disability: Improving Specificity of a Pediatric Delirium Screen

OBJECTIVES

Children with developmental disabilities are at high risk for developing delirium when critically ill. However, existing pediatric delirium screening tools were designed for children with typical development. The objective of this study was to improve the specificity of the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium, to allow for accurate detection of delirium in developmentally delayed children admitted to the PICU. We hypothesized that the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium, when combined with fluctuation in level of awareness as measured by the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale, would be valid and reliable for the diagnosis of delirium in developmentally delayed children.

DESIGN

Prospective observational double-blind cohort study.

SETTING

Tertiary care academic PICU.

PATIENTS

Children with moderate to severe developmental delay.

INTERVENTIONS

Each child was evaluated by the bedside nurse with the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium once every 12 hours and the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale every 4 hours. Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium (score ≥ 9) + Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale fluctuation (change in Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score of at least 2 points during a 24-hr period) was compared with the criterion standard psychiatric evaluation for diagnosis of delirium.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Forty children participated; 94 independent paired assessments were completed. The psychiatrists' diagnostic evaluations were compared with the detection of delirium by the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium and Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale. Specificity of the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium + Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale fluctuation was 97% (CI, 90-100%), positive predictive value of Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium + Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale fluctuation was 89% (CI, 65-99%); and negative predictive value remained acceptable at 87% (95% CI, 77-94%). In addition, to confirm interrater reliability of the criterion standard, 11 assessments were performed by two or more psychiatrists in a blinded fashion. There was perfect agreement (κ = 1), indicating reliability in psychiatric diagnosis of delirium in developmentally delayed children.

CONCLUSION

When used in conjunction with Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score fluctuation, the Cornell Assessment for Pediatric Delirium is a sensitive and specific tool for the detection of delirium in children with developmental delay. This allows for reliable delirium screening in this hard-to-assess population.

Delirium in hospitalised children

Delirium is a syndrome characterised by an acute and fluctuating alteration in cognition and awareness. It occurs frequently in children with serious medical illness, and is associated with adverse outcomes such as increased length of hospital stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital costs, and mortality. Delirium-especially the hypoactive subtype-is often overlooked by paediatric practitioners, but can be reduced by mitigating risks and effectively managed if detected early. Non-modifiable risk factors of delirium include young age (age <2 years), cognitive or neurological disabilities, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, severe underlying illness and pre-existing chronic conditions, and poor nutritional status. Routine bedside screening using validated tools can enable early detection of delirium. To reduce delirium in hospitalised children, health-care providers should optimise the hospital environment (eg, by reducing sleep disruption and keeping the child stimulated during the day), improve pain management, and decrease sedation (particularly use of benzodiazepines).

Diagnosis, grading, and treatment recommendations for children, adolescents, and young adults with sinusoidal obstructive syndrome: an international expert position statement

Sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, also known as hepatic veno-occlusive disease, is a potentially life-threatening complication that occurs in children undergoing haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). Differences in the incidence of genetic predisposition and clinical presentation of sinusoidal obstructive syndrome between children and adults have rendered the historical Baltimore and Seattle diagnostic criteria insufficient for children. In 2017, the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) proposed the first paediatric diagnostic and severity grading guidelines for sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, intended for implementation across European centres. However, universally accepted paediatric criteria are needed to ensure prompt diagnosis, definitive treatment, and improved outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, and to facilitate international clinical research collaboration. We convened an international panel of multidisciplinary experts including physicians with expertise in HSCT, paediatric intensive care, nephrology, hepatology, radiology, pathology, and transfusion medicine; HSCT advanced-practice providers and medical trainees; pharmacists; and translational and basic science researchers from the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Network, the EBMT, the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortia, and several other institutions with extensive experience in sinusoidal obstructive syndrome. Panellists convened at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX, USA) in February, 2019, to evaluate the available evidence. In this expert position statement paper, we provide consensus recommendations for the international implementation of guidelines for the diagnosis, severity grading, and treatment of sinusoidal obstructive syndrome among children, adolescents, and young adults. We endorse universal adoption of paediatric diagnostic guidelines for sinusoidal obstruction syndrome as proposed by the EBMT, and provide implementation guidance for standardisation across centres; we have further proposed adjunctive use of age-appropriate organ-specific toxicity criteria for severity grading and provided prophylaxis and treatment considerations among children and adolescent and young adult patients. Key recommendations include: (1) liver biopsy, portal venous wedge pressure, and reversal of portal venous flow on Doppler ultrasonography should not be used for the routine diagnosis of sinusoidal obstructive syndrome in children, adolescents, and young adults; (2) platelet refractoriness can be defined as a corrected count increment of less than 5000-7500 following at least two sequential ABO-compatible fresh platelet transfusions; (3) hepatomegaly is best defined as an absolute increase of at least 1 cm in liver length at the midclavicular line; and if a baseline measurement is not available, hepatomegaly can be defined as greater than 2 SDs above normal for age; and (4) the presence and volume of ascites can be categorised as mild (minimal fluid by liver, spleen, or pelvis), moderate (<1 cm fluid), or severe (fluid in all three regions with >1 cm fluid in at least two regions).

Psychotropic medication use trends in a large pediatric and young adult solid organ transplant population

INTRODUCTION

This study describes psychotropic medication use in a pediatric and young adult solid organ transplant population.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective review of the lifetime incidence of psychotropic medication use and associated characteristics in patients seen over a 6-year period at a large pediatric transplant center utilizing univariate and multivariate statistical analyses.

RESULTS

The lifetime incidence of psychotropic medication use was 36.5% in 393 patients. Transplant psychiatry provided psychopharmacological consultation to 21.9% of patients. Controlling for age and sex, there were significant associations between psychotropic use and thoracic organ disease (heart/lung) (AOR = 2.14; 95% CI: 1.2-3.8; P = 0.01), White race (P = 0.0002), histories of depressive/mood disorders (AOR = 3.68; 95% CI: 1.8-7.7; P = 0.0005), attention/learning disorders (AOR = 3.30; 95% CI: 1.6-6.9; P = 0.001), acute and post-traumatic stress disorders (AOR = 10.54; 95% CI: 2.6-42.8; P = 0.001), and experiencing bullying (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.03-4.55; P = 0.04). In unadjusted tests, significant associations were found between lifetime psychotropic usage and patient anxiety history (OR = 2.26; 95% CI: 1.5-3.5; P = 0.0002), end-of-life disease progression (OR = 3.04; 95% CI: 1.7-5.4; P = 0.0002), family psychiatric history (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.4-3.4; P = 0.0007), and adherence concerns (OR = 2.67; 95% CI: 1.7-4.1; P < 0.0001).

DISCUSSION

The lifetime incidence of psychotropic medication use among pediatric and young adult transplant patients is substantial. Patients with thoracic organ disease, end-of-life illness, individual/family psychiatric histories, trauma, and bullying histories have particularly high rates. Integrating child psychiatry as part of pediatric transplant teams should be an important consideration for the care of these patients.