No pain, no gain in pediatric Sepsis*

摘要

Each year, more than 75,000 pediatric patients are treated for severe sepsis in U.S. hospitals (1). The landmark clinical studies of pediatric sepsis have largely used in-hospital mortality and organ failure-free days as the primary outcome measures. These outcomes are imperative and led to our understanding the importance of rapid reversal of shock states (2), controlling inflammation (3), and bundling care (4). As a result, approximately 91% of patients will survive their critical septic illness, and yet, we know surprisingly little about these children's ultimate function and quality of life once they have left the hospital. While survival and minimizing hospital length of stay certainly constitute "winning the battle," heretofore underreported consequences of surviving sepsis and its life-saving treatment are arguably the next major challenge for impacting outcome.