Mortality following admission to the paediatric intensive care unit: A Swedish longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Aim This study aimed to compare outcomes post‐admission to a Swedish paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in children with complex chronic conditions (CCC) and without CCC. Methods In this observational registry‐based study, consecutive admissions to the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital PICU from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2016 were analysed. Data on demographics, predicted death rates (PDR), admission diagnoses and causes of death were collected. Mortality was recorded up to 15 years after admission and compared between groups. Results Patients with CCC constituted 64.6% ( n = 3026) of PICU admissions and 83.5% ( n = 111) of PICU deaths. The crude mortality rate in PICU was 2.84% overall. CCC‐patients were 2.83 times more likely to die in PICU compared to non‐CCC (OR 2.83; 95% CI: 1.78–4.49). Mortality increased in the CCC‐cohort up to 5 years after PICU discharge, while non‐CCC patients generally survived if they survived in PICU. Of the patients who died in PICU, the median PDR was 22.9% for CCC‐patients and 66.5% in the non‐CCC cohort. Conclusion Children with CCC accounted for most admissions and deaths in PICU. Despite lower severity of illness scores upon admission, CCC patients were nearly three times more likely to die in PICU compared to non‐CCC patients.