Incidence and associated risk factors of ICU-acquired weakness in pediatric patients after congenital heart surgery

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the incidence of ICU-acquired weakness（ICU-AW）and the associated risk factors in pediatric patients after congenital heart surgery. Method: A total of 255 children who had undergone congenital heart surgery were assigned to two groups (with and without ICU-AW) and we compared patient characteristics between the two groups. Additionally, we intended to identify the associated risk factors for ICU-AW based on a multivariate analysis. Results: Of the 255 patients, 65 patients (25.5%) were diagnosed with ICU-AW. The duration of administration of muscle relaxant (OR: 2.358, 95%CI: 1.693-3.283, P<0.001) and the Aristotle basic complexity levels (OR: 2.997, 95%CI: 1.383-6.495, P=0.005) were identified as risk factors for ICU-AW in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: ICU-AW was observed in 25.5% of the pediatric patients after congenital heart surgery. Pre-existing heart disease and post-operative management were identified as risk factors for ICU-AW in children with congenital heart disease.