Background: Pediatric orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has a low mortality. Some children, however, have an adverse outcome defined as a prolonged ventilatory support requirement and protracted pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stay. The aim of this study was to determine if that adverse outcome related to the child's condition pre-OLT and/or the development of a pleural effusion or diaphragmatic dysfunction.
Methods: The study included 210 children with a median age at transplantation of 45.5 months (range 0.2-252 months). Fourteen had undergone retransplantation. The duration of ventilatory support (intermittent positive pressure ventilation [IPPV]) and PICU admission and development of a pleural effusion and/or diaphragmatic dysfunction were documented for each child. The patients were divided into three groups according to whether they had acute liver failure (ALF), chronic liver disease at home (CHOM), or chronic liver failure sufficiently ill to be in the hospital awaiting transplantation (CHOSP).
Results: The 36 children with ALF were of similar age to the 138 CHOM and 36 CHOSP children but required longer IPPV (P<0.0001) and PICU stay (P<0.0001). Overall, 17 children developed diaphragmatic dysfunction and 138 pleural effusions; affected children required longer IPPV and PICU stay (P<0.01). Regression analysis demonstrated that diaphragmatic dysfunction, but not pleural effusion development, was associated with prolonged ventilation (P<0.01) and protracted PICU stay (P<0.05). Other risk factors were ALF (P<0.01), retransplantation (P<0.01), and young age (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Diaphragmatic dysfunction adversely influences PICU morbidity after OLT. Early assessment of diaphragmatic function, and if necessary aggressive management, might improve outcome.