Functional Status after PICU Hospitalization – A Six-Month Follow-Up: A Multicenter Study - Abstract
Background: The evaluation of functional status and disability of the patients after critical disease are significant aspects to be measured. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the
functional status of critical pediatric patients after hospital discharge.
Methods: Prospective longitudinal observational study, with age between one month and <18 years old, who needed PICU admission. The functional status was evaluated with
FSS-Brazil at baseline, PICU discharge, hospital discharge, three and six months after this and new morbidity was defined as a worsening in functional status in the FSS-Brazil of two
or more points in the same domain compared with the baseline score. The Generalized Estimating Equation model was used to compare the FSS-Brazil scores. McNemar Chi-square
test was used to evaluate the difference between the categories of functional status in each domain. Poisson regression was performed to determine associations between clinical
variables and functional status.
Results: It was included 214 patients and 135 finished the follow-up. The majority of the sample was males (57.5%), with some chronic condition (76.2%), and 45.8% were
readmitted to the hospital. We observed a higher incidence of moderate dysfunction at PICU discharge (42.1%), and the new morbidity was observed in 11.5% of the sample after
hospital discharge. More days in invasive mechanical ventilation increases 1.02 the risk of new morbidity.
Conclusions: Patients who needed PICU recovered functional status after hospital discharge and remained stable in three and six months. The incidence of new morbidity was
low and invasive mechanical ventilation was a risk factor for new morbidity.