Distinct clinical phenotypes in paediatric cancer patients with sepsis are associated with different outcomes—an international multicentre retrospective study

Background: Identifying phenotypes in sepsis patients may enable precision medicine approaches. However, the generalisability of these phenotypes to specific patient populations is unclear. Given that paediatric cancer patients with sepsis have different host response and pathogen profiles and higher mortality rates when compared to non-cancer patients, we determined whether unique, reproducible, and clinically-relevant sepsis phenotypes exist in this specific patient population. Methods: We studied patients with underlying malignancies admitted with sepsis to one of 25 paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) participating in two large, multi-centre, observational cohorts from the European SCOTER study (n = 383 patients; study period between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2020) and the U.S. Novel Data-Driven Sepsis Phenotypes in Children study (n = 1898 patients; study period between January 1, 2012 and January 1, 2018). We independently used latent class analysis (LCA) in both cohorts to identify phenotypes using demographic, clinical, and laboratory data from the first 24 h of PICU admission. We then tested the association of the phenotypes with clinical outcomes in both cohorts. Findings: LCA identified two distinct phenotypes that were comparable across both cohorts. Phenotype 1 was characterised by lower serum bicarbonate and albumin, markedly increased lactate and hepatic, renal, and coagulation abnormalities when compared to phenotype 2. Patients with phenotype 1 had a higher 90-day mortality (European cohort 29.2% versus 13.4%, U.S. cohort 27.3% versus 11.4%, p < 0.001) and received more vasopressor and renal replacement therapy than patients with phenotype 2. After adjusting for severity of organ dysfunction, haematological cancer, prior stem cell transplantation and age, phenotype 1 was associated with an adjusted OR of death at 90-day of 1.9 (1.04–3.34) in the European cohort and 1.6 (1.2–2.2) in the U.S. cohort. Interpretation: We identified two clinically-relevant sepsis phenotypes in paediatric cancer patients that are reproducible across two international, multicentre cohorts with prognostic implications. These results may guide further research regarding therapeutic approaches for these specific phenotypes. Funding: Part of this study is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.