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INFORMATION FOR

    Pediatric Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome- Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment-

    February 21, 2025

    Transcript

    • 00:00My name is Rick Pierce,
    • 00:01and I'm an associate professor
    • 00:03of pediatrics in the section
    • 00:04of pediatric critical care medicine
    • 00:06at the Yale New Haven
    • 00:07Children's
    • 00:08Hospital and Yale School of
    • 00:10Medicine.
    • 00:11I'm talking today about pediatric
    • 00:14systemic capillary leak syndrome
    • 00:16and the challenges in its
    • 00:17diagnosis
    • 00:18and treatment.
    • 00:19The purpose of this module
    • 00:21is to raise awareness
    • 00:23about the diagnosis
    • 00:24and inpatient and outpatient treatment
    • 00:26of systemic capillary leak disease
    • 00:28so that it may be
    • 00:29better recognized
    • 00:30in critically ill children. Systemic
    • 00:32capillary leak disease is a
    • 00:34rare syndrome
    • 00:36characterized by episodes of recurrent
    • 00:38shock that are not related
    • 00:40to systemic infection.
    • 00:42It's been called idiopathic
    • 00:44capillary leak syndrome or Clarkson's
    • 00:46disease because it was first
    • 00:47described by Bayard Clarkson in
    • 00:50nineteen fifty eight.
    • 00:52He described a woman who
    • 00:53would have episodes of shock
    • 00:55every five to eight months.
    • 00:58She is shown here on
    • 00:59the top picture in her
    • 01:00well state and shown on
    • 01:01the below in a state
    • 01:03of leak where she has
    • 01:05facial edema and extremity edema.
    • 01:08She would have episodes,
    • 01:10starting at thirty two years
    • 01:11of age in nineteen fifty
    • 01:13six. Her episodes would occur
    • 01:15every five to eight months
    • 01:16and progressively worsened.
    • 01:18They were characterized
    • 01:19by,
    • 01:20malaise,
    • 01:21abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting
    • 01:24for about thirty six hours,
    • 01:25and then she would have
    • 01:26extremity edema
    • 01:28and hypotension. And her cases
    • 01:30became her episodes of leak
    • 01:31became worse and worse
    • 01:33until unfortunately,
    • 01:35she had an episode in
    • 01:36nineteen fifty eight, which caused
    • 01:38led to hypovolemic shock and
    • 01:39caused a terminal cardiac arrest.
    • 01:42Since that time,
    • 01:44we've learned a lot about
    • 01:45systemic capillary leak disease,
    • 01:47and it's recharacterized by recurrent
    • 01:49episodes of hypovolemic shock.
    • 01:52These episodes are recurrent
    • 01:53and they're not explained by
    • 01:55infection or other abnormalities.
    • 01:58These episodes typically have three
    • 02:01phases.
    • 02:02The first phase is called
    • 02:03the prodrome.
    • 02:05This phase is quite nonspecific
    • 02:07and can can be composed
    • 02:09of fever,
    • 02:10general malaise,
    • 02:12abdominal pain,
    • 02:14myalgias,
    • 02:16and patients will typically have
    • 02:17lower urine output, be drinking
    • 02:19more, and have an increase
    • 02:21in body weight.
    • 02:23The prodrome phase may last
    • 02:24for several days
    • 02:26and then comes the leak
    • 02:27phase.
    • 02:29The leak phase is characterized
    • 02:31by hypotension,
    • 02:33hypoalbuminemia,
    • 02:34and hemoconcentration.
    • 02:37These three findings constitute the
    • 02:39diagnostic
    • 02:40triad of systemic capillary leak
    • 02:42disease.
    • 02:43Patients in the leak phase
    • 02:44may also have generalized edema
    • 02:46ranging from mild swelling of
    • 02:48the extremities
    • 02:50to,
    • 02:51severe ascites,
    • 02:52pleural effusions,
    • 02:54and even compartment syndrome
    • 02:56of of the extremities.
    • 02:58The leak phase may last
    • 02:59for hours to days
    • 03:01and then, transitions
    • 03:03rather suddenly and unexpectedly
    • 03:05to the recovery phase. In
    • 03:07the recovery phase, volume that
    • 03:09has leaked out of the
    • 03:10blood vessels
    • 03:11is rapidly recruited back into
    • 03:13the blood vessels and may
    • 03:14result in sudden unexpected
    • 03:17volume overload.
    • 03:18This may produce
    • 03:20pulmonary edema
    • 03:21or cardiac failure from the
    • 03:23sudden increase in intravascular
    • 03:25volume.
    • 03:26The cause of SCLS is
    • 03:28unknown, but there are two
    • 03:29general
    • 03:30noncompeting
    • 03:31theories.
    • 03:32The first is that there
    • 03:33is some systemic
    • 03:35insult that results in a
    • 03:38exaggerated response of pro inflammatory
    • 03:40mediators.
    • 03:41In this theory, the blood
    • 03:42vessels are responding normally.
    • 03:44The other theory is that
    • 03:46there may be normal systemic
    • 03:48responses to inflammation or insults
    • 03:50and that the endothelial
    • 03:51cells
    • 03:52are hyper reactive to normal
    • 03:54stimuli.
    • 03:56Both theories have been supported
    • 03:58by circumstantial evidence.
    • 04:00Supporting the circulating pro inflammatory
    • 04:03mediator theory are studies that
    • 04:05have shown that patients have
    • 04:06abnormal paraproteins.
    • 04:08These are
    • 04:09these are termed
    • 04:11the monoclonal
    • 04:12gammopathy of undetermined significance that
    • 04:15we'll talk about later,
    • 04:17or vascular targeted cytokines such
    • 04:19as vascular endothelial
    • 04:21growth factor or VEGF,
    • 04:23interleukin two, angiopoietin two,
    • 04:26leukotrienes,
    • 04:27or other chemokines
    • 04:29or cytokines.
    • 04:30These levels may be elevated
    • 04:32in patients when they're sick
    • 04:33compared to when they're well
    • 04:35or elevated in patients with
    • 04:37capillary leak disease compared
    • 04:39to not. But they're hard
    • 04:40to interpret because of all
    • 04:42of those multiple comparisons.
    • 04:44And no studies have conclusively
    • 04:46shown a single systemic
    • 04:49cytokine or chemokine is responsible
    • 04:52for the leak phase of
    • 04:53systemic capillary leak disease.
    • 04:56The other theory is that
    • 04:57the endothelial cells are hyperreactive,
    • 05:00and this theory is supported
    • 05:02by increased markers of endothelial
    • 05:04cell apoptosis
    • 05:06in patients during the leak
    • 05:07phase or
    • 05:09isolation of endothelial cells from
    • 05:11patients with SCLS
    • 05:12and investigating their overreactive
    • 05:14signaling in the lab in
    • 05:16response to,
    • 05:18normal circulating cytokines.
    • 05:20And this is what, I
    • 05:22do in addition to caring
    • 05:23for critically ill children is
    • 05:25I run a, research lab
    • 05:27focused
    • 05:28on blood vessel dysfunction in
    • 05:30critically ill children.
    • 05:32And I am keenly interested
    • 05:34in understanding
    • 05:35how the junctions in blood
    • 05:37vessels break down and allow
    • 05:39leak from inside the vascular
    • 05:41space to outside of the
    • 05:43vascular space.
    • 05:44The goals of my laboratory
    • 05:46are to understand this, how
    • 05:47this happens in critically ill
    • 05:48children, and identify ways to
    • 05:51ultimately treat it to reduce
    • 05:53the burden of critical illness
    • 05:55in children.
    • 05:56I do research patients with
    • 05:58systemic capillary leak disease, and
    • 06:00my goal is to understand
    • 06:01how vascular leak occurs in
    • 06:03those patients so that we
    • 06:04may develop new treatments for
    • 06:06them, but also a better
    • 06:08understand how vascular leak occurs
    • 06:10in all critically ill children
    • 06:12and develop therapies
    • 06:13to reduce that leak and
    • 06:15reduce the time children have
    • 06:16to stay in the intensive
    • 06:18care unit.
    • 06:20The first case of pediatric
    • 06:21capillary leak disease was reported
    • 06:23in nineteen ninety five. This
    • 06:25was a nine year old
    • 06:26Canadian female,
    • 06:28and she started having episodes
    • 06:29at age three. And she
    • 06:31had episodes every eight to
    • 06:33nine months,
    • 06:34until,
    • 06:36she became almost nine years
    • 06:38old when she had an
    • 06:39episode that again resulted in
    • 06:41hypovolemic
    • 06:42shock, cardiac arrest, and her
    • 06:45unfortunate death.
    • 06:46The youngest patient described with
    • 06:48capillary leak disease was a
    • 06:50twenty three week premature infant
    • 06:53who developed their first episode
    • 06:54of leak at twenty eight
    • 06:56days of life or a
    • 06:57corrected gestational age of twenty
    • 06:59seven weeks. So systemic capillary
    • 07:02leak disease has been reported
    • 07:04in very young babies,
    • 07:06very young children,
    • 07:08adolescents,
    • 07:09and now adults.
    • 07:11Since nineteen ninety five, there
    • 07:13are about thirty cases
    • 07:15of pediatric systemic capillary leak
    • 07:17identified,
    • 07:18and we've not been able
    • 07:19to determine any sex,
    • 07:21ethnicity, or inheritance patterns for
    • 07:24this disease,
    • 07:24although that remains an area
    • 07:26of ongoing research. About three
    • 07:28hundred adults have been identified
    • 07:30with this disease, and children
    • 07:32have the same disease phases
    • 07:34as adults. That is they
    • 07:35have this prodrome
    • 07:37of not feeling well, a
    • 07:39sudden leak phase followed by
    • 07:41a sudden recovery phase. But
    • 07:43there are reasons to think
    • 07:44that pediatric systemic capillary leak
    • 07:47disease may be different from
    • 07:49adult systemic capillary leak disease.
    • 07:51And those differences are summarized
    • 07:53in, this table.
    • 07:55First,
    • 07:56are the demographic data.
    • 07:59Although more than three hundred
    • 08:00adults with SCLS have been
    • 08:02described, only about thirty children
    • 08:03with SCLS have been described.
    • 08:06And the average age of
    • 08:07diagnosis is about,
    • 08:09five point five years or
    • 08:10young childhood
    • 08:11in children, whereas adults are
    • 08:13diagnosed into middle age, about
    • 08:15forty two years of age.
    • 08:16Children also much more frequently
    • 08:18have a viral prodrome
    • 08:20that is
    • 08:21fever, abdominal pain, myalgias,
    • 08:24as opposed to adult capillary
    • 08:26leak disease where about fifty
    • 08:28percent of patients have those.
    • 08:30And then another striking difference
    • 08:31is the monoclonal gammopathy of
    • 08:33undetermined
    • 08:44SCLS.
    • 08:45So this is a very
    • 08:46big difference and may tell
    • 08:47us that there's some difference
    • 08:48in the underlying pathology,
    • 08:50but we haven't determined what
    • 08:52this means yet.
    • 08:53Finally, the time between episodes
    • 08:55and diagnoses
    • 08:57is more than a year
    • 08:58in adult SCLS and we
    • 09:00don't know that interval in
    • 09:02pediatric SCLS.
    • 09:03And we also don't know
    • 09:05the five year mortality,
    • 09:07which
    • 09:08untreated was about seventy five
    • 09:10percent in adults, but newer
    • 09:12treatments
    • 09:13that I'll talk about later
    • 09:15have dramatically
    • 09:16reduced
    • 09:17that. But these are unknown
    • 09:19in children with SCLS
    • 09:21and many children may have
    • 09:23several episodes
    • 09:24before capillary leak is diagnosed.
    • 09:27And these episodes may be
    • 09:29severe,
    • 09:30which is one of the
    • 09:30major points of this education
    • 09:32module
    • 09:33is that pediatric systemic capillary
    • 09:35leak disease is likely underdiagnosed
    • 09:38due to a lack of
    • 09:39provider awareness
    • 09:41about the disease.
    • 09:43And this is very, very
    • 09:44important because these episodes can
    • 09:45be severe.
    • 09:47They can be severe hypovolemic
    • 09:49shock. They can have severe
    • 09:50problems, but they can also
    • 09:52be prevented
    • 09:53if we can make the
    • 09:54diagnosis
    • 09:55early.
    • 09:56I'd like to talk about
    • 09:57a typical case presentation for
    • 10:00pediatric systemic capillary leak disease
    • 10:02and include a parent testimonial
    • 10:05that is used with their
    • 10:06consent.
    • 10:07Children typically will present to
    • 10:09the emergency room with edema
    • 10:11and distributive shock.
    • 10:13Key elements of the history
    • 10:15include the patient was otherwise
    • 10:16healthy. They may have a
    • 10:18vague viral prodrome for two
    • 10:20to three days that include
    • 10:22things like abdominal pain,
    • 10:25a little bit of eating
    • 10:26less, a little bit of
    • 10:27nausea,
    • 10:29myalgias,
    • 10:30low grade fever, but non
    • 10:32nonspecific
    • 10:33prodromal symptoms.
    • 10:35They may have had a
    • 10:36history of unexplained,
    • 10:38episodes of facial or extremity
    • 10:40edema,
    • 10:41and there's an absence of
    • 10:43known allergies
    • 10:44or other triggering factors such
    • 10:46as drugs, infection, environmental exposures,
    • 10:49or other chronic diseases
    • 10:51that would suggest or or
    • 10:53lead to,
    • 10:55edema.
    • 10:56Some key elements of the
    • 10:57physical exam include those that
    • 10:59are consistent with distributive shock.
    • 11:01These patients will have a
    • 11:03high heart rate and a
    • 11:04low blood pressure.
    • 11:05They may have,
    • 11:07signs of volume overload already
    • 11:10such as a third heart
    • 11:12sound or crackles on their
    • 11:13lung exam.
    • 11:14Their skin color is typically,
    • 11:17modeled consistent with distributive shock,
    • 11:20and their temperature and capillary
    • 11:21refill time may also be
    • 11:23abnormal.
    • 11:24These patients usually do not
    • 11:26have a rash.
    • 11:27Their mental status may be
    • 11:29decreased, and if available at
    • 11:30your institution,
    • 11:31they may have you may
    • 11:32be able to do point
    • 11:33of care heart or lung
    • 11:35ultrasound revealing
    • 11:37increased, cardiac function,
    • 11:40pericardial effusions,
    • 11:42and plural effusions or pulmonary
    • 11:44parenchymal edema by lung ultrasound.
    • 11:47Reverie,
    • 11:49woke up in April of
    • 11:50twenty twenty two
    • 11:52with very swollen eyes. So
    • 11:55it was bilateral
    • 11:56swelling in both of her
    • 11:58eyes, periorbital edema,
    • 12:00which we now know is
    • 12:01the official term.
    • 12:03And we thought it was
    • 12:04allergies.
    • 12:06At that time, she was
    • 12:07not acting lethargic
    • 12:09or ill in any way.
    • 12:12We phoned the doctor and
    • 12:14were instructed to start a
    • 12:16typical course of antihistamines.
    • 12:18In that first episode, no
    • 12:19fever, nothing like that. We
    • 12:21thought, oh, freak incident. And
    • 12:22then lo and behold, come
    • 12:24July, she's running a fever
    • 12:26and her eyes start swelling.
    • 12:27And that's where we really
    • 12:28were like, this is not
    • 12:30allergies. Something else is going
    • 12:31on.
    • 12:33Second time, they said, okay.
    • 12:36Let's put a referral into,
    • 12:38eye doctor.
    • 12:40So then we did a
    • 12:40referral to eye doctor. Eye
    • 12:42doctor did not do tests,
    • 12:43but they did do a
    • 12:44full full exam. It was
    • 12:46a pediatric ophthalmologist,
    • 12:48not an optometrist.
    • 12:50So that was her second
    • 12:51week.
    • 12:52When that came back clear,
    • 12:54the ophthalmologist
    • 12:55sent us to the ENT.
    • 12:57The ENT did do testing
    • 12:59day of. They did that
    • 13:01c the head CT,
    • 13:03but insurance
    • 13:05requires them to do, like,
    • 13:07thirty days of antibiotics, which
    • 13:09I'm sure you guys have
    • 13:10heard with yep. So she
    • 13:12they put her on thirty
    • 13:13days of antibiotics for a
    • 13:15potential what if sinus infection
    • 13:17that's, like, stuck somewhere in
    • 13:19her system. Third and fourth
    • 13:21one, we went to urgent
    • 13:22care twice,
    • 13:24and they only did urine
    • 13:25protein,
    • 13:26zero labs, no labs.
    • 13:30And
    • 13:31like I said, her fourth
    • 13:32one,
    • 13:33the which was influenza a
    • 13:35October twenty twenty two, she
    • 13:37was very sick, and we
    • 13:39I'm upset that there was
    • 13:41no further care administered.
    • 13:44She was, like, two weeks
    • 13:45of school for sure. And
    • 13:47she was febrile for
    • 13:49I feel like her body
    • 13:51temperature did not get back
    • 13:52to, like, ninety eight six
    • 13:53for, like, a month. And
    • 13:54for that swelling to resolve,
    • 13:56it was every bit of
    • 13:57two weeks.
    • 13:59Yeah. In May of twenty
    • 14:01twenty three, it was Cinco
    • 14:03de Mayo weekend.
    • 14:05And once again, she was
    • 14:07very, very ill, fever, lethargic,
    • 14:11and it got to the
    • 14:11point where she was unable
    • 14:13to walk. And
    • 14:15that's when the red flags,
    • 14:17I was like, this is
    • 14:18just not right. She was
    • 14:19very slow to respond verbally.
    • 14:21As you can see from
    • 14:22the patient testimonial,
    • 14:24the signs and symptoms may
    • 14:26not be conclusive
    • 14:27of any diagnosis.
    • 14:29And the acute presentation,
    • 14:31severity of shock, and availability
    • 14:33of life saving personnel and
    • 14:35resources
    • 14:36may limit the consideration of
    • 14:37a thorough differential diagnosis.
    • 14:40But not all distributive shock
    • 14:43is sepsis, and it's important
    • 14:45to have a broader differential
    • 14:47when considering patients who have
    • 14:49come in one or more
    • 14:51time with the somewhat unique
    • 14:53finding of
    • 14:55hypotension
    • 14:56distributive shock
    • 14:57with
    • 14:58edema. The differential is listed
    • 15:00here on the left side
    • 15:01of this table.
    • 15:02Systemic capillary leak disease is
    • 15:04on top, and sepsis, the
    • 15:06most common etiology confused with
    • 15:08systemic capillary leak disease, is
    • 15:10on the next line.
    • 15:12Other specific causes of sepsis
    • 15:13such as toxic shock syndrome
    • 15:15or inborn errors of immunity
    • 15:17that lead to,
    • 15:18shock states are shown there
    • 15:20as well, along with anaphylaxis,
    • 15:22nephrotic syndrome, hereditary angioedema,
    • 15:26and Addison's disease.
    • 15:27These differentials may seem broad,
    • 15:29but you'll see how certain
    • 15:31parts of different diseases overlap
    • 15:33with different parts of the
    • 15:35systemic capillary leak disease history,
    • 15:38physical exam, clinical course, laboratory
    • 15:40findings,
    • 15:41and how they may be
    • 15:42confused for systemic capillary leak
    • 15:44disease.
    • 15:46Discussing the history and physical
    • 15:47exam,
    • 15:48there in systemic capillary leak
    • 15:50disease, there may be one
    • 15:52or more of these episodes,
    • 15:54wet patients coming in with
    • 15:56the unique combination of hypotension
    • 15:59and edema.
    • 16:00In septic shock, toxic shock
    • 16:02syndrome, or septic shock from
    • 16:04inborn errors of immunity,
    • 16:06patients may come in with
    • 16:07fever and hypotension and tachycardia
    • 16:09very similar to systemic capillary
    • 16:11leak disease,
    • 16:12but the signs of edema
    • 16:15will be absent,
    • 16:17and they may have other
    • 16:18findings such as rash
    • 16:21or a known genetic abnormality.
    • 16:23Patients with anaphylaxis may come
    • 16:25in with hypotension
    • 16:26and,
    • 16:28some edema. Typically, that's localized
    • 16:30to the face or to
    • 16:31the area where there was
    • 16:32an exposure to a known
    • 16:33allergen.
    • 16:34These patients will also have
    • 16:36profound respiratory distress such as,
    • 16:38manifested by wheezing,
    • 16:41or airway edema.
    • 16:43They may also have a
    • 16:44urticarial rash.
    • 16:46Patients with hereditary angioedema may
    • 16:49also have localized edema to
    • 16:51the face. They typically will
    • 16:53come in not with cardiovascular
    • 16:54symptoms, but with signs of
    • 16:56respiratory distress from upper airway
    • 16:58swelling.
    • 16:59Patients with nephrotic syndrome,
    • 17:01may come in with edema,
    • 17:02but typically these patients are
    • 17:04hypertensive and their course has
    • 17:06been more gradual onset.
    • 17:08And patients with Addison's disease
    • 17:10may also have a gradual
    • 17:11onset and come in with
    • 17:12hypotension, but there may be
    • 17:14some skin pigmentation findings.
    • 17:16So what are the initial
    • 17:18workup, for a patient with
    • 17:19systemic capillary leak disease? Well,
    • 17:21the initial focus has to
    • 17:23be on the distributive shock.
    • 17:25And so you would do
    • 17:26all of the things at
    • 17:27your institution
    • 17:29associated with your septic shock
    • 17:31bundle
    • 17:32or, that you would do
    • 17:33for distributive shock. These may
    • 17:35include blood cultures, urinalysis,
    • 17:37urine cultures, CBC, complete metabolic
    • 17:39panel. Depending on the severity
    • 17:42of the presentation,
    • 17:44you you may get a
    • 17:45blood gas to look at
    • 17:46gas exchange or perfusion with
    • 17:47lactate.
    • 17:48If you have suspicion of
    • 17:50decreased cardiac output, you may
    • 17:52consider cardiac enzymes or natriuretic
    • 17:54peptides,
    • 17:55a tox screen, and coagulation
    • 17:57panel.
    • 17:58When these, come back, a
    • 18:00secondary evaluation may include chest
    • 18:02radiography
    • 18:03or CT scan to look
    • 18:05for a nidus of infection,
    • 18:06other viral testing,
    • 18:08or more,
    • 18:10in in-depth testing such as
    • 18:12cortisol, thyroid, or cytokine panels
    • 18:14as they're available at your
    • 18:15institution.
    • 18:16We took her to the
    • 18:17ED and, of course, she
    • 18:19presented with a very high
    • 18:21heart rate. So they immediately
    • 18:23started fluids,
    • 18:25which, of course, is a
    • 18:26detrimental error
    • 18:28and a reason that a
    • 18:29lot of these kiddos
    • 18:31end up in ICU type
    • 18:33situations.
    • 18:34Her lower extremity swelled.
    • 18:37You started to see just
    • 18:38overall puffiness and Yes. To
    • 18:40the point where you couldn't
    • 18:41pull her shorts up over
    • 18:42her legs. Yes. And, you
    • 18:43know, you pick her up.
    • 18:44And and at that point,
    • 18:45she weighed,
    • 18:47I think, forty pounds or
    • 18:49so, and she gained five
    • 18:50pounds overnight. I know with
    • 18:52other kids who ended up
    • 18:53in the ICU, they were
    • 18:55treating for what they thought
    • 18:56was sepsis or septic shock,
    • 18:59hence the fluid overload.
    • 19:02Once we got her labs
    • 19:03back with low albumin and
    • 19:05low sodium,
    • 19:06we insisted on being transferred
    • 19:08to Big Duke.
    • 19:09The laboratory findings of SCLS
    • 19:12are quite unique as well.
    • 19:14Again, the diagnostic triad of
    • 19:16this is hypotension,
    • 19:18which can be as severe
    • 19:20as hypotensive shock and cardiac
    • 19:22arrest,
    • 19:23hemoconcentration,
    • 19:24where patients
    • 19:26hematocrit may double or even
    • 19:28triple from their baseline levels,
    • 19:30and hypoalbuminemia,
    • 19:32where unreadably low albumin is
    • 19:34common,
    • 19:35but at least below,
    • 19:37one and a half or
    • 19:38two milligrams per deciliter.
    • 19:41These patients will also have
    • 19:42high lactate, but normal inflammatory
    • 19:44markers, which will differentiate them
    • 19:46from sepsis, toxic shock syndrome,
    • 19:49and many inborn errors of
    • 19:50immunity.
    • 19:52Other tests that may clue
    • 19:54into a diet alternate
    • 19:55other tests that may clue
    • 19:56into an alternate diagnosis
    • 19:59include elevated tryptase for anaphylaxis,
    • 20:02abnormal complement levels for hereditary
    • 20:05angioedema,
    • 20:06and abnormal lipid profiles
    • 20:09for nephrotic syndrome,
    • 20:11and low cortisol
    • 20:13or
    • 20:14ACTH
    • 20:15for Addison's disease.
    • 20:18The initial treatment
    • 20:19for pediatric SCLS disease has
    • 20:22to be focused on the
    • 20:23severity of shock. This includes
    • 20:25stabilizing the airway and breathing
    • 20:27with supplemental oxygen
    • 20:29or mechanical support as needed.
    • 20:32Next, you must stabilize the
    • 20:33cardiovascular
    • 20:34dysfunction,
    • 20:35and this is done with
    • 20:36a conservative
    • 20:38fluid resuscitation
    • 20:39strategy. Patients with systemic capillary
    • 20:41leak disease are
    • 20:43at high risk to become
    • 20:45fluid overloaded very quickly.
    • 20:47This means you must monitor
    • 20:48the fluid responsiveness and fluid
    • 20:50overload frequently and risk of
    • 20:52fluid overload frequently. Also consider
    • 20:54early use of vasopresso therapies
    • 20:56as opposed to additional
    • 20:58fluid boluses.
    • 21:00Conservative fluid resuscitation is not
    • 21:02unfamiliar
    • 21:03to pediatric emergency medicine and
    • 21:05critical care providers.
    • 21:06Think about how we would
    • 21:08resuscitate a patient
    • 21:09in hypovolemic
    • 21:11shock as part of diabetic
    • 21:12ketoacidosis
    • 21:14To avoid or minimize the
    • 21:16risk of subsequent cerebral edema,
    • 21:18we would employ a similar
    • 21:20strategy
    • 21:21of smaller intravascular boluses with
    • 21:23more frequent reassessment
    • 21:25and early vasopressor
    • 21:27use.
    • 21:28Patients with systemic capillary leak
    • 21:30disease,
    • 21:31can be can have their
    • 21:32cardiac output monitored the same
    • 21:33way you would for other
    • 21:35etiologies of shock, and that
    • 21:37includes lactate, mixed venous oxygen
    • 21:39saturation,
    • 21:40urine output mental status, or
    • 21:42if available at your institution
    • 21:43echocardiography.
    • 21:46Patients with s with SCLS
    • 21:48are at higher risk for
    • 21:49complications of resuscitation, however,
    • 21:52and this can include compartment
    • 21:54syndrome.
    • 21:55Aggressive fluid resuscitation
    • 21:57will lead to excessive extravascular
    • 21:59leak of that fluid
    • 22:01into the extremities
    • 22:02and may quite quickly result
    • 22:04in loss of systemic pulses,
    • 22:07profound extremity pain,
    • 22:09and,
    • 22:10resulting all from compartment syndrome,
    • 22:13which needs to be addressed
    • 22:14immediately
    • 22:15by your orthopedic or plastic
    • 22:17surgery
    • 22:18services.
    • 22:19Patients are also at high
    • 22:20risk for other
    • 22:22vascular leak complications including abdominal
    • 22:25compartment syndrome,
    • 22:27pericardial
    • 22:28effusions,
    • 22:29or pleural effusions,
    • 22:31which may all result in
    • 22:33worse end organ dysfunction.
    • 22:35These patients are also at
    • 22:36high risk for coagulation abnormalities
    • 22:38and deep venous thrombosis
    • 22:40due to stasis of blood,
    • 22:42and may require early treatment
    • 22:44with anticoagulation,
    • 22:46but that should be done
    • 22:47in conjunction with your hospital
    • 22:49policies.
    • 22:50The sharp drop in intravascular
    • 22:52volume may also result in
    • 22:54more profound acute kidney injury,
    • 22:56than typically seen in distributive
    • 22:58shock. All of these complications,
    • 23:00need to be monitored frequently
    • 23:02in the patient in the
    • 23:03leak phase.
    • 23:06Unfortunately, there are no specific
    • 23:07therapies for the leak phase.
    • 23:10There have been many tried,
    • 23:11but none are effective. Those
    • 23:13that have been tried include
    • 23:14IVIG, plasma exchange,
    • 23:17aminophylline or tributyline, methylene blue,
    • 23:19targeted immunotherapies,
    • 23:21or even extracorporeal
    • 23:23membranous oxygenation or ECMO.
    • 23:25These therapies have not shown
    • 23:27to be effective at reducing
    • 23:28the intensity or duration of
    • 23:30the leak phase and should
    • 23:31only be leveraged for your
    • 23:33patients in collaboration with local
    • 23:35experts.
    • 23:36The leak phase may last
    • 23:37as little as several hours
    • 23:39or up to seven days.
    • 23:41They instantly stopped fluids.
    • 23:44So they did not know
    • 23:45what was going on. Their
    • 23:46initial,
    • 23:49assumption as almost all of
    • 23:51the kids that I know
    • 23:52with SCLS was nephrotic syndrome.
    • 23:54We that was the first
    • 23:55people we had in. We
    • 23:56actually were admitted on a
    • 23:58Sunday in the middle of
    • 23:58the night. Monday morning rounds,
    • 24:00the entire children's
    • 24:02nephrology team is in with
    • 24:03us
    • 24:04taking all of that. I
    • 24:06will say during some of
    • 24:07those previous leaks, her urine
    • 24:09was tested for protein. So
    • 24:11that was always top of
    • 24:12mind awareness was checking kidney
    • 24:14functions, but it was always
    • 24:16perfect.
    • 24:17So we did do imaging,
    • 24:19of her kidneys. Everything was
    • 24:21perfect. No protein in urine.
    • 24:23And at this time, she
    • 24:24started dumping that IV fluid,
    • 24:26and she gained ten percent
    • 24:28of her body weight
    • 24:29within about twelve hours.
    • 24:31The recovery phase of
    • 24:33systemic capillary leak disease may
    • 24:35start suddenly.
    • 24:36And this is associated with
    • 24:38rapid recruitment
    • 24:39of all of the volume
    • 24:41that had leaked out of
    • 24:42the patient's blood vessels back
    • 24:44into the intravascular
    • 24:45space.
    • 24:46This may be associated with
    • 24:48flash pulmonary edema
    • 24:50due to increased hydrostatic pressures
    • 24:53and heart failure due to
    • 24:55sudden
    • 24:55circulatory
    • 24:57overload.
    • 24:58This needs to be monitored
    • 24:59carefully in these patients and
    • 25:01treat treated with aggressive
    • 25:03diuresis.
    • 25:04Also, during hospital stays,
    • 25:06patients should have consults for
    • 25:08dedicated pediatric subspecialties.
    • 25:11These include rheumatology
    • 25:13and or
    • 25:14allergy and immunology,
    • 25:16as well as those consults
    • 25:18dictated by end organ dysfunction,
    • 25:21such as infectious disease, nephrology,
    • 25:23cardiology,
    • 25:25or or neurology or other,
    • 25:27services.
    • 25:28In conjunction with these services,
    • 25:30tertiary evaluation
    • 25:32for systemic capillary leak disease
    • 25:34include
    • 25:35immunoelectrophoresis
    • 25:37to look for the monoclonal
    • 25:39gammopathy of undetermined significance both
    • 25:41in the blood and the
    • 25:42urine,
    • 25:43urine analyses,
    • 25:45to, rule out nephrotic syndrome,
    • 25:48targeted,
    • 25:49tests to rule out anaphylaxis
    • 25:51such as negative tryptase or
    • 25:53rule out hereditary angioedema
    • 25:55such as c one esterase
    • 25:56inhibitor levels. If there's cardiac
    • 25:58dysfunction,
    • 26:00you may consider advanced imaging
    • 26:02of of heart function.
    • 26:03And if available at your
    • 26:05institution,
    • 26:06rapid whole genome or other
    • 26:07targeted genetic testing. She never
    • 26:10went to PICU.
    • 26:11She all she stayed on
    • 26:12the main floor. Her albumin
    • 26:14was always low. They never
    • 26:16gave her replacement albumin. They
    • 26:18waited to see if she
    • 26:19could pee all of that
    • 26:20extra fluid out, which she
    • 26:22did.
    • 26:23But Monday was nephrology.
    • 26:25Tuesday, we met with endocrinology
    • 26:27and explored Addison's disease,
    • 26:30again, having some symptoms but
    • 26:32missing others.
    • 26:34That cleared up. We also
    • 26:36saw allergy immunology for angioedema.
    • 26:40He quickly was like, this
    • 26:41is not angioedema,
    • 26:43but they still ruled it
    • 26:44out.
    • 26:45And then the last
    • 26:47specialty that explored was gastro.
    • 26:49I have celiac, so we
    • 26:51thought maybe something's going on.
    • 26:53Maybe the protein is leaking
    • 26:55through the GI system. So
    • 26:56she had stool samples sent
    • 26:58off, all of that, and
    • 26:59that came back clear. And
    • 27:01it was not until the
    • 27:02rheumatology
    • 27:03team came in,
    • 27:05and it was actually the
    • 27:06fellow
    • 27:07who,
    • 27:09took the assessment and presented
    • 27:11it to her attending. And
    • 27:12it was the attending, doctor
    • 27:13Rebecca Sedoun,
    • 27:15who came in maybe five
    • 27:17minutes later. Yeah. And she
    • 27:18was like, your daughter is
    • 27:19a unicorn.
    • 27:21I have never seen this.
    • 27:22I will probably never see
    • 27:24this again.
    • 27:25And she told us the
    • 27:27diagnosis.
    • 27:29This table summarizes the inpatient
    • 27:31treatment differences between the differential
    • 27:33diagnosis.
    • 27:35Again, I would note the
    • 27:36conservative fluid resuscitation and early
    • 27:39vasopressor therapy
    • 27:40for patients with systemic capillary
    • 27:42leak disease to help minimize
    • 27:44the complications
    • 27:46of the recovery phase.
    • 27:48Although there are no
    • 27:50effective therapies to decrease
    • 27:52the duration or intensity of
    • 27:53the leak phase, there are
    • 27:55effective therapies to
    • 27:57reduce the risk of having
    • 27:58another leak phase. In addition
    • 28:00to all of the pediatric
    • 28:02subspecialty follow-up based on organ
    • 28:04injury, children should be followed
    • 28:06by rheumatology
    • 28:07or allergy immunology
    • 28:09depending on who's most comfortable
    • 28:11prescribing
    • 28:11intravenous immunoglobulin
    • 28:13or IVIG,
    • 28:15to these patients.
    • 28:16IVIG is the first line
    • 28:18treatment
    • 28:19for preventing
    • 28:20leak episodes in patients with
    • 28:22SCLS.
    • 28:23It significantly,
    • 28:25reduces relapse rates and increases
    • 28:27ten year survival
    • 28:29up to one hundred percent,
    • 28:31in adults.
    • 28:33Typically, IVIG doses are starting
    • 28:35on the higher end,
    • 28:36of one to two kilograms
    • 28:38per month and then titrated
    • 28:40in close collaboration with rheumatology
    • 28:43or allergy immunology experts
    • 28:45to the, tolerated,
    • 28:47dose.
    • 28:48If patients are unable to
    • 28:49tolerate IVIG, and that may
    • 28:51be due to headaches or
    • 28:53migraines associated with infusion,
    • 28:55other infusion reactions, or the
    • 28:57cost or the time required,
    • 29:00to administer this drug at
    • 29:01infusion centers, they may benefit
    • 29:03from subcutaneous
    • 29:04immunoglobulin
    • 29:05or SCIG
    • 29:07at a dose of eighty
    • 29:08milligrams per kilogram up to
    • 29:09three times a week.
    • 29:11Other older therapies,
    • 29:13for SCLS include terbutaline or
    • 29:16theophylline.
    • 29:17In,
    • 29:19other therapies for SCLS include
    • 29:21terbutaline
    • 29:22or theophylline.
    • 29:23These have been used together
    • 29:24or separately,
    • 29:26and are really much, much
    • 29:27less effective than IVIG.
    • 29:30Failed therapies,
    • 29:31are listed here but includes
    • 29:32steroids, diuretics,
    • 29:34leukotriene
    • 29:35modifying agents, and other drugs
    • 29:37or herbal supplements are not
    • 29:39recommended and they do not
    • 29:41prevent
    • 29:42episodes of leak.
    • 29:44So here is our completed
    • 29:46table,
    • 29:46which highlights the differences between
    • 29:48systemic capillary leak disease
    • 29:51and, other diagnostic
    • 29:53considerations
    • 29:54in the short term, long
    • 29:55term, and response to treatment?
    • 29:58At almost every single pediatric
    • 30:00case, it's like reading her
    • 30:02MyChart notes.
    • 30:04Child presents to the ED
    • 30:06with court with, cold like
    • 30:08symptoms,
    • 30:09high heart rate, low blood
    • 30:11pressure, low albumin. And so
    • 30:12to me, that was so
    • 30:13frustrating as a parent that
    • 30:15how could it be these
    • 30:17three or four
    • 30:18identical
    • 30:19simple clinical presentations
    • 30:22and no one has heard
    • 30:23of this.
    • 30:25And that's where my passion
    • 30:26comes from with raising awareness.
    • 30:29So those first three episodes,
    • 30:31I think I was doing
    • 30:34I reacted how any mom
    • 30:35would. I was still very
    • 30:36concerned, and I was still
    • 30:37calling the nurse line. I
    • 30:39feel like I did everything
    • 30:40right.
    • 30:41If I were to whisper
    • 30:42in my ear back with
    • 30:44the influenza a, that really
    • 30:46bad
    • 30:47third fourth week,
    • 30:49I would have insisted on
    • 30:50blood work. And but it's
    • 30:52really hard to convince pediatric
    • 30:54providers
    • 30:55to do labs. And it's
    • 30:56also hard because I don't
    • 30:58you don't wanna do labs
    • 30:59on your kids. It's a
    • 31:00nightmare. Right? It's terrible. They're
    • 31:01screaming and crying. So it's
    • 31:02not like you necessarily wanna
    • 31:04ask for blood work. And
    • 31:05when your pediatrician who you
    • 31:07trust and knows your child
    • 31:09isn't saying you need it,
    • 31:11you know, but we both
    • 31:12knew something was going on.
    • 31:14The frustration was there probably
    • 31:16since the second week. I
    • 31:17was like,
    • 31:18this is not just unknown
    • 31:20eyes falling, this random eyes
    • 31:21falling. Like, there has to
    • 31:22be a reason.
    • 31:24Education is huge.
    • 31:26And and bring it to
    • 31:27your doctors because a lot
    • 31:28of them, you have to
    • 31:30become, like, your own expert
    • 31:32on it. They're not gonna
    • 31:34have read as many papers
    • 31:35as you on it most
    • 31:36likely.
    • 31:37They're you know, they may
    • 31:39not know who to contact,
    • 31:41but it's a very small
    • 31:43circle
    • 31:44with this
    • 31:45disease. And we feel very,
    • 31:47very blessed for doctor Drury's
    • 31:49research,
    • 31:50which I know is more
    • 31:51adult based and even more
    • 31:52blessed that, doctor Pierce, you're
    • 31:54kinda taking the torch and
    • 31:56and moving the needle, if
    • 31:57you will, here in the
    • 31:58United States for SCLS.
    • 32:01So, yeah, I think just
    • 32:02advocate and educate and read
    • 32:05and talk to one another
    • 32:07as parents.
    • 32:09So I hope that I
    • 32:09have convinced you to consider
    • 32:11systemic capillary leak disease,
    • 32:14in children that have one
    • 32:15or more unexplained episodes of
    • 32:18hypovolemic shock.
    • 32:20This is especially important for
    • 32:21those that have,
    • 32:23episodes of
    • 32:24culture negative septic shock,
    • 32:27to be considering systemic capillary
    • 32:29leak disease.
    • 32:30And that's because many children
    • 32:31will have more than one
    • 32:32episode of leak before this
    • 32:33is diagnosed,
    • 32:35and that's preventable.
    • 32:36I hopefully, I've convinced you
    • 32:37that there's effective
    • 32:39outpatient treatment that can reduce
    • 32:41the episodes of leak or
    • 32:43prevent the episodes of leak
    • 32:44with IVIG or SCIG.
    • 32:48An increased awareness,
    • 32:49of pediatric emergency medicine and
    • 32:52critical care providers
    • 32:53may decrease the number of
    • 32:55episodes of leak before there's
    • 32:57a diagnosis.
    • 32:58I continue to run a
    • 33:00lab focused on blood vessel
    • 33:01dysfunction in critically ill children
    • 33:02and am actively invested and
    • 33:04involved
    • 33:05in children diagnosed with capillary
    • 33:07leak syndrome.
    • 33:08I'd be happy to hear
    • 33:09from providers or patients at
    • 33:11the email address listed there.