Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Children Who Received Antibiotics for Ventilator-Associated Tracheitis (VAT)
| 118 patients meeting VAT criteriaa |
150 patients with clinician-suspected VATb |
|||||
| Variable | ≤6 days of antibiotics (n = 36) | ≥7 days of antibiotics (n = 82) | P | ≤6 days of antibiotics (n = 50) | ≥7 days of antibiotics (n = 100) | P |
| Age, median years (IQR) | 1.0 (0.9–12) | 0.9 (0.6–14) | 0.8 (0.5–12) | 0.8 (0.5–14) | ||
| PRISMc score, median value (IQR) | 12 (8–20) | 12 (8–21) | .60 | 12 (9–20) | 12 (10–26) | |
| Unit | .24 | .56 | ||||
| NICU | 28 (78) | 55 (67) | 18 (36) | 41 (41) | ||
| PICU | 8 (22) | 27 (33) | 32 (64) | 59 (59) | ||
| Male sex | 24 (67) | 54 (66) | .93 | 35 (70) | 63 (63) | .40 |
| Gram-negative organisms from sputum | 26 (72) | 68 (83) | .18 | 30 (60) | 78 (78) | .02 |
| Preexisting conditions | .22 | .47 | ||||
| Prematurity | 6 (17) | 22 (27) | 15 (30) | 33 (33) | ||
| Neuromuscular | 9 (25) | 10 (12) | 9 (18) | 10 (10) | ||
| Cardiovascular | 3 (8) | 13 (16) | 5 (10) | 16 (16) | ||
| Genetic/metabolic | 2 (6) | 4 (5) | 2 (4) | 6 (6) | ||
| Respiratory | 3 (8) | 12 (15) | 3 (6) | 13 (13) | ||
| Trauma | 7 (20) | 10 (12) | 8 (16) | 10 (10) | ||
| Gastrointestinal | 4 (11) | 2 (2) | 4 (8) | 2 (2) | ||
| Immunocompromised | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | ||
NOTE. Data are numbers (%) of patients, unless otherwise indicated. IQR, interquartile range; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit.
a
Based on previously published definition of VAT [10–12, 14].
b
Children receiving antibiotic courses for clinician-suspected VAT (inclusive of the 118 patients who met criteria for VAT).
c
Pediatric risk of mortality score from time of VAT diagnosis.