High need for intensive care in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia: A population‐based study

Aim Risk of treatment‐related life‐threatening toxicity is high in childhood acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and access to intensive care units (ICU) is crucial. We explored the ICU admission rate and outcome after intensive care in childhood AML in Sweden. Methods Patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2016 were identified from the Swedish Childhood Cancer Registry (SCCR), a national quality registry. Data from SCCR was cross‐referenced with clinical questionnaire data from paediatric oncology centers and the Swedish Intensive Care Registry (SIR), another national quality registry. Results According to combined data, 46% of the children (58/126) were admitted to ICU, 17% (21/126) within 1 month from diagnosis. Overall, ICU mortality per admission was 12% and 6% during first‐line treatment. There was a discrepancy between admission rate from the clinical questionnaires and SCCR (29%; 36/126 children) and SIR (44%; 55/126) All deaths during first‐line treatment occurred at or after ICU care. Conclusion Although admission rate under AML treatment was high, the treatment‐related mortality under first‐line treatment was low. No child died under first‐line treatment without admission to ICU, suggesting good availability. The discrepancy between the two registries, SCCR and SIR, highlights the need for future validation of registry data.