Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Criteria in Critically Ill Children: The PODIUM Consensus Conference

Context: Prior criteria to define pediatric multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) did not include gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate current evidence and to develop consensus criteria for gastrointestinal dysfunction in critically ill children.

Data sources: Electronic searches of PubMed and EMBASE were conducted from January 1992 to January 2020, using medical subject heading terms and text words to define gastrointestinal dysfunction, pediatric critical illness, and outcomes.

Study selection: Studies were included if they evaluated critically ill children with gastrointestinal dysfunction, performance characteristics of assessment/scoring tools to screen for gastrointestinal dysfunction, and assessed outcomes related to mortality, functional status, organ-specific outcomes, or other patient-centered outcomes. Studies of adults or premature infants, animal studies, reviews/commentaries, case series with sample size ≤10, and non-English language studies with inability to determine eligibility criteria were excluded.

Data extraction: Data were abstracted from each eligible study into a standard data extraction form along with risk of bias assessment by a task force member.

Results: The systematic review supports the following criteria for severe gastrointestinal dysfunction: 1a) bowel perforation, 1b) pneumatosis intestinalis, or 1c) bowel ischemia, present on plain abdominal radiograph, computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or gross surgical inspection, or 2) rectal sloughing of gut mucosa.

Limitations: The validity of the consensus criteria for gastrointestinal dysfunction are limited by the quantity and quality of current evidence.

Conclusions: Understanding the role of gastrointestinal dysfunction in the pathophysiology and outcomes of MODS is important in pediatric critical illness.