Pediatric Shock: The Magnitude, Its Determinants and Short-Term Outcome on Patients. A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study

Mebrahtu Gebreslassie Kidanu; Engdaeshet Tazebe; Alemseged Berhane Tesfa; Marta Yemane Hadush; Mebrihit M Kahsay; Mebrahtu G Tedla

doi:10.2147/PHMT.S458438

Pediatric Shock: The Magnitude, Its Determinants and Short-Term Outcome on Patients. A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study

Pediatric Health Med Ther. 2024 May 28:15:213-221. doi: 10.2147/PHMT.S458438. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Mebrahtu Gebreslassie Kidanu¹, Engdaeshet Tazebe², Alemseged Berhane Tesfa², Marta Yemane Hadush², Mebrihit M Kahsay³, Mebrahtu G Tedla⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aksum University, Aksum, Tigray, Ethiopia.
² Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
³ College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.

Abstract

Background: Pediatric shock is a potentially fatal illness which develops after a systemic circulatory system failure in children. It appears to be a common emergency in children and produces substantial morbidity and mortality particularly if there is no early identification and therapy. The extent and causes of shock-induced death among children in Ethiopia have not been sufficiently studied.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the magnitude, determinants and short-term outcome of shock in pediatric patients who visited Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Methods: From October 1, 2020, to July 30, 2022, an observational cross-sectional study was carried out at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. The study included 132 children from the age of 1 month to 18 years. According to pediatric advanced life support guidelines, shock was diagnosed among patients. To gather information, a pretested questionnaire was employed. To examine the relationship between the independent variables and shock outcome, bivariate logistic regression was performed, and statistical significance was defined as a P-value of 0.05 or lower.

Results: The prevalence of shock was 2.2%. This study revealed 70.5% decompensated stage of shock. Mortality rate of shock was 45.5% (95% CI: 37.1-53.8). A delayed presentation by more than one week with an adjusted odd ratio (AOR) of 16.9 (95% CI: 2.3-123), type of shock other than hypovolemic shock with AOR of 8.3 (95% CI: 1.4-48), stage of shock with AOR of 27.8 (95% CI: 2.8-157), requirement of mechanical ventilation with AOR of 11 (95% CI: 2.6-53) and length of hospital stay less than three days with AOR of 9 (95% CI: 1.7-48) were identified as a predictor of mortality by shock in children.

Conclusion: According to this study, shock causes a high rate of child mortality. Independent predictors of mortality included delayed presentation, shock type, stage of shock, the need for mechanical ventilation, and brief hospital stay (less than three days).

Keywords: Ayder Hospital; children; cross-sectional study; shock.

Grants and funding

There is no funding to report.