The FARA Study. A Cohort Study on Pediatric Acute Respiratory Failure in Three High-Altitude Hospitals: Hospital Universitario Fundación Santa Fe De Bogotá (HUFSFB), Clinica Infantil Colsubsidio (CIC), Instituto Roosevelt (IR), During the Year 2020

Introduction Acute respiratory failure (FRA) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatrics, it has a multifactorial origin. Additionally, there are few high-altitude studies in the pediatric population in Latin America. Objective: Calculate the incidence, analyze the causes, treatments, factors associated with the development, severity, mortality and burden of FRA disease in three hospitals in Bogotá. Study design: It is a multicenter prospective cohort study. As eligibility criteria, those older than 1 month and younger than 18 years with respiratory distress. Those who develop FRA, will be follow-up at diagnosis, 48 hours after admission, at discharge, 30 and 60 days after discharge. Data collection period 03/2020-06/2021. Results: From the 197 recruited patients the incidence of FRA is 49%, 52% of the population is male, average age 3.7 years, mostly patients under 1 year. From those FRA, 68% have required hospitalization in the intensive care unit with a mean stay of 9.6 days. The most widely used ventilation device is the high-flow cannula (41%). Different etiological isolation methods have been used for viral and bacterial causes, including PCR for COVID-19 in 72% of the whole population, positive in 9% of the cases. So far with mortality secondary to FRA of 6%. Conclusions: Given the impact of FRA in the pediatric population, FARA is presented as an epidemiological study developed at a high altitude, with the purpose of contributing to scientific knowledge, and additionally related to the characterization of the pediatric population with COVID 19.