Are We Aware that Hyperphosphatemia Affects Mortality and Morbidity as much as Hypophosphatemia in Pediatric Intensive Care Patients?

OBJECTIVE: Hypophosphatemia was previously shown to affect the duration of admission, mechanical ventilator requirements, mortality and morbidity during pediatric intensive care. Different from previous studies, our study was planned with the aim of showing whether hyperphosphatemia affects morbidity and mortality in pediatric intensive care patients as much as hypophosphatemia.

METHOD: Patients' ages, genders, reason for admission, underlying diseases, phosphorus levels examined on admission and on the 1-4th and 5-10th-days, duration on mechanical ventilation, duration of admission, final status and PRISM and PELOD scores calculated in the first 24 hours of admission were recorded.

RESULTS: Mortality was distinctly higher for those who were hypophosphatemic and hyperphosphatemic compared to those who were normophosphatemic. The highest mortality was identified in those who were hyperphosphatemic on the 5-10th-days. PELOD scores were only significantly different according to admission phosphorus levels (p:0.04).

CONCLUSION: In our study, we identified that hyperphosphatemia is a serious problem as hypophosphatemia for patients who admitted to the PICU. Patients identified to be hyperphosphatemic on admission had a significantly higher PELOD score. The significant difference of hyperphosphatemia in terms of PELOD score is one of the important points shown in our study. It should not be forgotten that like hypophosphatemia, hyperphosphatemia may cause serious problems in pediatric intensive care patients.