Trajectories of acute gastrointestinal injury grade in critically Ill children

To investigate the characteristics of different Acute Gastrointestinal Injury (AGI) grading trajectories and examine their impact on prognosis in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a large children’s hospital in China. The children admitted to the PICU were included. AGI grade was assessed every other day during the initial nine days following PICU admission.

A total of 642 children were included, of which 364 children (56.7%) exhibited varying degrees of gastrointestinal dysfunction (AGI grade ≥ 2). Based on the patterns of AGI grading over time, six groups were identified: low-stable group, low-fluctuating group, medium-decreasing group, medium-increasing group, high-decreasing group, high-persistent group. The high-persistent group accounted for approximately 90% of all recorded deaths. Compared to low-stable group, both the medium-increasing and high-persistent groups exhibited positive correlations with length of stay in PICU (PICU LOS) and length of stay (LOS). Compared to low-stable group, the five groups exhibited a negative correlation with the percentage of energy received by enteral nutrition (EN), as well as the protein received by EN.

This study identified six distinct trajectory groups of AGI grade in critically ill children. The pattern of AGI grade trajectories over time were associated with EN delivery proportions and clinical outcomes.