To describe the use of noninvasive ventilation to prevent tracheal intubation in children in a pediatric intensive care unit and to analyze the factors related to respiratory failure.
A retrospective cohort study was performed from January 2016 to May 2018. The study population included children aged 1 to 14 years who were subjected to noninvasive ventilation as the first therapeutic choice for acute respiratory failure. Biological, clinical and managerial data were analyzed by applying a model with the variables that obtained significance ≤ 0.20 in a bivariate analysis. Logistic regression was performed using the ENTER method. The level of significance was set at 5%.
The children had a mean age of 68.7 ± 42.3 months, 96.6% had respiratory disease as a primary diagnosis, and 15.8% had comorbidities. Of the 209 patients, noninvasive ventilation was the first option for ventilatory support in 86.6% of the patients, and the fraction of inspired oxygen was ≥ 0.40 in 47% of the cases. The lethality rate was 1.4%. The data for the use of noninvasive ventilation showed a high success rate of 95.3% (84.32 - 106). The Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score and the length of stay in the intensive care unit were the significant clinical variables for the success or failure of noninvasive ventilation.
A high rate of effectiveness was found for the use of noninvasive ventilation for acute episodes of respiratory failure. A higher PRISM score on admission, comorbidities associated with respiratory symptoms and oxygen use ≥ 40% were independent factors related to noninvasive ventilation failure.