Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Children Undernourished on Admission.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early PN (n = 139) | Late PN (n = 150) | ||
| Male | 88 (63.3) | 85 (56.7) | .28 |
| Age at randomization, median (IQR), y | 0.43 (0.25-2.36) | 0.46 (0.21-3.46) | .69 |
| High STRONGkids categorya | 27 (19.4) | 31 (20.7) | .88 |
| Weight z score, mean (SD)b | −3.21 (1.09) | −3.33 (1.18) | .37 |
| Severely undernourished on admissionc | 61 (43.9) | 76 (50.7) | .25 |
| PELOD score, median (IQR)d | 21 (11-32) | 21 (12-31) | .99 |
| PIM2 score, mean (SD)e | −2.46 (1.52) | −2.47 (1.69) | .93 |
| Risk of mortality, median (IQR), %f | 6.3 (2.8-22.8) | 6.7 (2.5-15.7) | .58 |
| Diagnostic group | |||
| Surgical | |||
| Abdominal | 7 (5.0) | 10 (6.7) | .72 |
| Burns | 0 | 0 | |
| Cardiac | 58 (41.7) | 66 (44.0) | |
| Neurologic | 6 (4.3) | 6 (4.0) | |
| Thoracic | 3 (2.2) | 2 (1.3) | |
| Transplant | 0 | 2 (1.3) | |
| Trauma/orthopedic | 8 (5.8) | 9 (6.0) | |
| Other | 5 (3.6) | 1 (0.7) | |
| Medical | |||
| Cardiac | 6 (4.3) | 6 (4.0) | |
| Gastrointestinal/hepatic | 0 | 2 (1.3) | |
| Hematologic/oncologic | 1 (0.7) | 1 (0.7) | |
| Neurologic | 11 (7.9) | 9 (6.0) | |
| Renal | 0 | 0 | |
| Respiratory | 29 (20.9) | 28 (18.7) | |
| Other | 5 (3.6) | 8 (5.3) | |
| Syndrome or genetic abnormality | |||
| No | 96 (69.1) | 94 (62.7) | .36 |
| Yes | 36 (25.9) | 43 (28.7) | |
| Suspected | 7 (5.0) | 13 (8.7) | |
| Mechanical ventilatory support on PICU admission | 124 (89.2) | 127 (84.7) | .30 |
| Inotrope or vasopressor medication on PICU admission | 57 (41.0) | 69 (46.0) | .41 |
| Mechanical hemodynamic support on PICU admission | 0 | 3 (2.0) | .25 |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; PN, parenteral nutrition; STRONGkids, Screening Tool for Risk on Nutritional Status and Growth; PELOD, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit; PIM2, Pediatric Index of Mortality 2.
STRONGkids scores range from 0 to 5, with a score of 0 indicating low risk of malnutrition, 1 to 3 indicating medium risk, and 4 to 5 indicating high risk.13
Children younger than 1 year: weight-for-age z score; children 1 year or older: body mass index–for-age z score.18,19
Severe undernutrition defined as the following: for children younger than 1 year, weight-for-age z score less than −3; for children 1 year or older, body mass index–for-age z score less than −3.18,19
Scores range from 0 to 71, with higher scores indicate more severe illness.
Higher scores indicate a higher risk of mortality.
Based on PIM2 score = [expPIM2/(1 + expPIM2)] × 100.