Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the annual trend in the clinical outcomes observed in a pediatric ICU (PICU) at Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health. Methods and Patients: The pediatric index of mortality (PIM) score was collected for each patient admitted to our PICU between 2003 and 2006. The patients were categorized into 4 groups according to the respective managing departments; cardiovascular surgery, other surgeries, cardiology and other pediatrics. The predicted number of deaths was obtained by summing the probability of death (PIM score) for every patient in each group. The ratio of the observed to the predicted deaths (O/P ratio) was then calculated. Results: The O/P ratio in total patients decreased from 0.61 in 2003 to 0.30 in 2006. The O/P ratio in the cardiovascular surgery and cardiology also decreased, while that in the other surgeries and other pediatrics did not decrease. The predicted mortality in other pediatrics was high and the O/P ratio remained high for 4 years. Conclusions: Because of the improving the O/P ratio in cardiovascular surgery and cardiology, the total O/P ratio in our PICU improved during the 4-year study period.
