Background: Hypophosphatemia is one of the common disorders that develop in critically ill patients. It
has potential complications and is often unrecognized in those patients.
Objective: Determining the incidence of hypophosphatemia in critically ill children, its association with
clinical outcomes and the possible risk factors.
Methods: 50 patients were enrolled in the study. Levels of serum phosphate were measured on day 1 and
day 7 of PICU (Pediatric intensive care unit) stay. The following variables were analyzed: age, gender,
diagnosis on admission, malnutrition, phosphorus intake, clinical severity score on admission OFI (Organ
Failure Index) and daily scores PELOD (Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction), sepsis, use of dopamine,
furosemide and steroids and assessment of nutrition by z scores.
Results: The incidence of hypophosphatemia on admission was 42%. On seventh day of admission
incidence of hypophosphatemiawas 62%. Malnutritionwas present in 24% of patients, serum phosphorus
level was significantly lower in malnourished than in well-nourished children (p value ¼ 0.018).
Hypophosphatemia was associated with prolonged PICU length of stay (p < 0.001) but was not associated
with increased mortality (p ¼ 0.13). Cases on parenteral nutrition and insufficient oral intake while
on mechanical ventilator significantly showed hypophosphatemia (p ¼ 0.017). Hypophosphatemia was
associated with the use of furosemide, dopamine, steroids and b2 agonist.
Conclusion: Hypophosphatemia was common in the first 7 days of PICU hospitalization and was associated
with prolonged PICU stay, Significant association between hypophosphatemia and duration of use
of mechanical ventilation, use of furosemide, dopamine, steroids and b2 agonist.
© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
