Background: Pediatric severe sepsis is a public health problem with significant morbidities in those who survive. In this article, we aim to present an overview of the important studies highlighting the limited data available pertaining to long-term outcomes of survivors of pediatric severe sepsis.
Materials and methods: A review of literature available was conducted using PUBMED/Medline on pediatric severe sepsis outcomes. Long-term outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQL) following severe sepsis was defined as any outcome occurring after discharge from the hospital following an episode of severe sepsis which affected either the survivor or the survivor's family members.
Results: Many children are discharged with worse clinical and functional outcomes, depending on their diagnosis, treatments received, psychological effects, and the impact of their illness on their parents. Additionally, they utilize healthcare services more than their peers and are often readmitted soon after discharge. However, pediatric HRQL studies with worthwhile outcome measures are limited and the current data on pediatric sepsis is mainly retrospective.
Conclusions: There is significant and longstanding morbidity seen in children and their families following a severe sepsis illness. Further prospective data are required to study the long-term outcomes of sepsis in the pediatric population.
Keywords: HRQL; morbidity; readmissions; septic shock; social impact.