3.2 Characteristics of patients with ARE
ARE were observed in 11 (14.7%) of the 75 patients. Table 2 describes the patients’ characteristics. Eight and three patients had grade 3 and grade 4 hypoxia, respectively. Three (#10, #56, #68) experienced ARDS and required respiratory support in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). One (#10) of the three patients was received veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Two (#10, #56) had to discontinue chemotherapy temporarily, and all three patients needed to delay their second course of chemotherapy. No patients died during the induction therapy.
Five of the 11 patients experienced ARE on the first day of induction therapy (i.e., early onset) while the remaining six patients experienced ARE on the fourth day or later (i.e., late onset). Pleural effusion occurred in four of the five patients with early onset and in one of the six patients with late onset. On the other hand, ARDS and pericardial effusion was observed in three and two of the patients with late onset, respectively, but in none of the patients with early onset.