Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Children With Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Requiring Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: Post Hoc Analysis of the 2019–2020 Bronchiolitis and Codetection Cohort

Bronchiolitis and other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are the most common causes of pediatric respiratory failure. There is insufficient evidence characterizing pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) in young children with LRTI to inform clinical management. We aimed to describe the prevalence and clinical characteristics of children intubated for LRTI and meeting PARDS criteria. We performed a post hoc analysis of data from the Bronchiolitis And COdetectioN (BACON) study, an international prospective observational study of critical bronchiolitis. We compared PARDS subjects (meeting criteria the first full calendar day following intubation) to non-PARDS subjects. Forty-eight international PICUs recruiting to the BACON study, from December 2019 to November 2020. Children younger than 2 years old, requiring mechanical ventilation for acute LRTI. None. Complete data were available for 571 children. Day 1 PARDS was diagnosed in 240 subjects(42%) and associated with increased mortality (7.9% vs. 2.7%; p = 0.023), greater duration of invasive ventilation (165 hr [interquartile range, 112-251 hr] vs. 135 hr [76-204 hr]; p < 0.001), and PICU length of stay (11 d [7-16 d] vs. 8 d [5-13 d]; p < 0.001). In our multivariable competing risk model, the presence of PARDS on day 1 was causally related to a prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation with the probability of extubation at 7 days for those with PARDS equal to 49% (44-54%) compared with 64% (59-69%) for those without PARDS. PARDS development was common in this critical bronchiolitis cohort, resulted in a longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and was associated with increased mortality and PICU length of stay. Prospective studies are needed to elucidate the optimal management of critical bronchiolitis.