Characteristics of the study cohort
| 2005 (n=191) | 2006 (n=167) | 2007 (n=186) | 2008 (n=164) | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age, months | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 0.73 |
| Diagnostic group, n (%) | 0.48 | ||||
| Respiratory | 58 (30.4) | 53 (31.7) | 50 (26.9) | 51 (31.5) | |
| Neurology | 33 (17.3) | 27 (16.2) | 28 (15.0) | 21 (12.9) | |
| Cardiology | 34 (17.8) | 27 (16.2) | 43 (23.1) | 28 (17.3) | |
| Sepsis | 14 (7.3) | 8 (4.8) | 7 (3.7) | 18 (11.1) | |
| Trauma | 15 (7.8) | 22 (13.2) | 18 (9.7) | 11 (6.8) | |
| Surgical | 19 (9.9) | 12 (7.2) | 19 (10.2) | 16 (9.9) | |
| Metabolic | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | |
| Other | 14 | 13 | 17 | 12 | |
| Median predicted mortality risk, PIM-2 score | 7.77% | 6.38% | 6.4% | 5.7% | 0.05 |
| Percentage of patients ventilated† | 83.2% | 83.2% | 81.1% | 75.6% | 0.73 |
| Median response time (minutes) | 115 | 120 | 110 | 85 | 0.53 |
PIM-2, Paediatric Index of Mortality 2.
↵* The time periods were compared with respect to systematic differences in patient characteristics. No significant differences were seen.
↵† Ventilation was defined as the use of nasal prong continuous positive airway pressure and mechanical ventilation through a tracheostomy or endotracheal tube.