Clinical and epidemiological factors related to mortality due to septic shock in a pediatric intensive care unit

Introduction: Septic shock is a potentially life-threatening condition.The aim of this study was to identify clinical and epidemiological factors associated with mortality in pediatric patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with septic shock.Materials and methods: A retrospective comparative case series study was conducted with children aged 1 month to 14 years with septic shock from 2018 to 2020 in a PICU in Lima, Peru.Patients were divided into deceased and survivor groups based on their condition at discharge from the PICU.The influence of each variable on mortality was assessed using a logistic regression model.Results: A total of 174 patients were included in the study, with 51 (29.3%) fatalities.Deceased patients, compared to survivors, were older, had a higher incidence of oncological disease (31.4% vs. 14.6%;p = 0.011), more frequently presented with hemoglobin ≤ 9 g/dL (44% vs. 28%; p = 0.043), lactate > 2 mmol/L (70% vs. 44%; p = 0.002), platelets ≤ 150 (×10 3 )/μL (77% vs. 42%; p < 0.001), and pH ≤ 7.1 (31% vs. 6%; p < 0.001).In the logistic regression model, factors related to mortality were having a pH ≤ 7.1 (odds ratio [OR] = 8.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.52-31.75)and platelets ≤ 150 (×10 3 )/μL (OR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.40-10.84).Conclusions: Factors associated with mortality in pediatric patients with septic shock were a pH ≤ 7.1 and platelets ≤ 150 (×10 3 )/μL in the assessments conducted upon admission to the PICU.