Pediatrics ·
Refeeding syndrome affected 13.1% of children in a single PICU cohort
A retrospective cohort study of 404 children admitted to one PICU in Thailand from 2018 to 2022 found refeeding syndrome in 53 patients (13.1%). Chronic neurologic comorbidity was associated with higher adjusted odds, while higher BMI was associated with lower odds; affected children had a longer median hospital stay.
- Refeeding syndrome was diagnosed in 53 of 404 children.
- Chronic neurologic comorbidity was associated with higher odds.
- Affected children had longer hospital stays.
- Retrospective findings do not establish causation.
Researchers reviewed children aged 1 month to 18 years admitted to a tertiary-care PICU in northeastern Thailand between January 2018 and December 2022. Refeeding syndrome was identified using the 2020 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) criteria. The analysis included 404 children; 94 (23.3%) were classified as undernourished. The study assessed hospital stay, complications and mortality, as well as factors associated with refeeding syndrome.
Refeeding syndrome was diagnosed in 53 children (13.1%). Chronic neurologic comorbidity was associated with greater adjusted odds of the syndrome, whereas increasing BMI was associated with lower odds. Median hospital stay was significantly longer among children with refeeding syndrome than among those without it; the supplied report does not provide the length-of-stay values.
The findings support attention to metabolic disturbances in at-risk critically ill children, particularly those with chronic neurologic conditions. However, this was a retrospective, single-center study, and the reported associations do not establish causation or show that a particular monitoring or feeding strategy improves outcomes. The results may not generalize to other PICUs or patient populations.
In practice
In this single-center retrospective cohort, 13.1% of critically ill children met ASPEN 2020 criteria for refeeding syndrome, and chronic neurologic comorbidity was associated with higher adjusted odds. These findings support considering such children among those warranting close attention to metabolic disturbances during nutritional reintroduction. They do not establish that neurologic comorbidity causes the syndrome or that a specific prevention or monitoring approach improves outcomes; applicability beyond this PICU is uncertain.
AI-generated clinical interpretation · Not editor-reviewed
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Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: Prevalence and Outcomes of Refeeding Syndrome in Critically Ill Children: A Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Care Setting ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.