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Objectives: To investigate changes in complement component 3 (C3) levels in children with sepsis and its correlation with the severity of sepsis and to explore the significance of C3 in predicting mortality in children with sepsis., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 529 children with sepsis who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Hunan Children's Hospital between November 2019 and September 2021. The children were categorized into two groups based on their prognosis at day 28 after sepsis diagnosis: the survival group ( n =471) and the death group ( n =58). Additionally, the children were divided into normal C3 group ( n =273) and reduced C3 group ( n =256) based on the median C3 level (0.77 g/L) within 24 hours of admission. Clinical data and laboratory markers were compared between the groups, and assess the predictive value of C3 levels in relation to sepsis-related mortality., Results: The death group exhibited significantly lower C3 levels compared to the survival group ( P <0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (p-SOFA) scores and lower C3 levels were closely associated with sepsis-related mortality ( P <0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis demonstrated that combination of p-SOFA scores and C3 levels yielded an area under the ROC curve of 0.852, which was higher than that of each indicator alone ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: C3 can serve as an indicator to assess the severity and prognosis of sepsis in children. The combination of p-SOFA scores and C3 levels holds good predictive value for mortality in children with sepsis.

Objectives: To study the efficacy of different drug treatment regimens in children with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS)., Methods: Clinical data of children diagnosed with STSS confirmed by bacterial culture and treated in Hunan Children's Hospital and Chenzhou First People's Hospital from January 2009 to April 2023 were retrospectively collected. The efficacy of different drug treatment regimens was analyzed. The children were divided into four groups based on the treatment regimens: standard group (regimens containing penicillin), Group A (carbapenem + glycopeptides/linezolid), Group B (carbapenems, broad-spectrum antibiotics, glycopeptides/linezolid used alone or in combination, excluding the regimens in Group A), and Group C (macrolides/not receiving antimicrobial drugs)., Results: A total of 32 cases of STSS were included. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that all strains were sensitive to beta-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin and vancomycin, while resistant to clindamycin, erythromycin, and tetracycline. There was a statistically significant difference in the efficacy rate among the four groups ( P <0.05). The standard group exhibited the highest efficacy rate (100%), while the efficacy rates for Group A, Group B, and Group C were 40%, 40%, and 0%, respectively., Conclusions: The use of antimicrobial regimens containing penicillin can improve the therapeutic efficacy of STSS in children.

Objectives: To investigate the risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in children with cardiac arrest (CA) and the influencing factors for prognosis., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical records of the children who developed CA in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Hunan Children's Hospital from June 2016 to June 2021. According to the presence or absence of AKI within 48 hours after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) for CA, the children were divided into two groups: AKI ( n =50) and non-AKI ( n =113). According to their prognosis on day 7 after ROSC, the AKI group was further divided into a survival group ( n =21) and a death group ( n =29). The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for early AKI in the children with CA and the influencing factors for prognosis., Results: The incidence rate of AKI after CA was 30.7% (50/163). The AKI group had a 7-day mortality rate of 58.0% (29/50) and a 28-day mortality rate of 78.0% (39/50), and the non-AKI group had a 7-day mortality rate of 31.9% (36/113) and a 28-day mortality rate of 58.4% (66/113). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that long duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( OR =1.164, 95% CI : 1.088-1.246, P <0.001), low baseline albumin ( OR =0.879, 95% CI : 0.806-0.958, P =0.003), and adrenaline administration before CA ( OR =2.791, 95% CI : 1.119-6.961, P =0.028) were closely associated with the development of AKI after CA, and that low baseline pediatric critical illness score ( OR =0.761, 95% CI : 0.612-0.945, P =0.014), adrenaline administration before CA ( OR =7.018, 95% CI : 1.196-41.188, P =0.031), and mechanical ventilation before CA ( OR =7.875, 95% CI : 1.358-45.672, P =0.021) were closely associated with the death of the children with AKI after CA., Conclusions: Albumin should be closely monitored for children with ROSC after CA, especially for those with long duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, low baseline pediatric critical illness score, adrenaline administration before CA, and mechanical ventilation before CA, and such children should be identified and intervened as early as possible to reduce the incidence of AKI and the mortality rate.

Objective: To study the effect of different energy feeding patterns on the nutritional status, clinical course, and outcome of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and severe pneumonia., Methods: A total of 43 malnourished infants, aged <6 months, who were diagnosed with ventricular septal defect and severe pneumonia and underwent surgical operation from January 1 to December 30, 2017 were enrolled. They were randomly divided into an observation group with 21 infants and a control group with 22 infants. The infants in the observation group were given calorie-enriched formula milk powder (100 kcal/100 mL) after surgery, and those in the control group were given formula milk powder with normal calories (67 kcal/100 mL). The two groups were observed for 3 months to record physical measurements, laboratory markers and nutritional risk screening results. Nutritional status was evaluated for all infants. The two groups were compared in terms of prognosis and adverse events., Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in physical measurements, laboratory markers, nutritional assessment and nutritional risk screening results on admission (P>0.05). At discharge and 1 and 3 months after surgery, the control group had significantly higher degree of malnutrition and level of nutritional risk than the observation group (P<0.05). The analysis of variance with repeated measures showed significant differences in body weight, upper arm circumference, weight-for-age Z-score, height-for-age Z-score, weight-for-height Z-score, and albumin level at different time points and between different groups, and there was an interaction between group factors and time factors (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the observation group had a significantly lower average daily intake of fluid, a significantly higher average daily intake of energy, and a significantly lower incidence rate of insufficient feeding during hospitalization (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the observation group had significantly shorter length of hospital stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and duration of postoperative pyrexia, as well as significantly lower hospital costs (P<0.05). No significant adverse reactions were observed in either group., Conclusions: An appropriate increase in postoperative energy supply for children with CHD can improve the status of malnutrition and clinical outcome.