International expert consensus statement on PICU admission and early critical care management for paediatric patients following haematopoietic cell transplant and immune effector cell therapy

Advances in paediatric haematopoietic cell transplantation strategies using immune-effector cells (HCT-IEC) and in intensive care management have improved survival expectations for patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases. However, critical illness still complicates the clinical course for 10–35% of patients undergoing HCT-IEC because of disease-related complications or treatment-related toxicities. Given the improvement in survival for these patients in paediatric intensive care units (PICU), the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC), the HCT-Cancer Immunotherapy Subgroup of the Paediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI) Network, and the Paediatric Diseases Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) derived expert consensus statements to guide PICU admission and early critical care management of patients following HCT-IEC. 27 statements were drafted by the steering committee and subsequently voted on by 20 expert panel members with expertise in HCT and IEC. 20 statements received strong agreement and seven received weak agreement. This consensus statement serves as a guide for intensivists, haematologists, and oncologists during the challenging process of PICU admission and critical care management of patients who have undergone HCT-IEC and can serve as a basis for prioritising future research in the field.