Most childhood deaths in the United States occur in hospitals. Pediatric intensive care clinicians must anticipate and effectively treat dying children’s pain and suffering and support the psychosocial and spiritual…
Delirium occurs frequently in the critically ill child. It is a syndrome characterized by an acute onset and fluctuating course, with behaviors that reflect a disturbance in awareness and cognition….
Septic shock remains the major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although early sepsis recognition, fluid resuscitation, timely administration of antimicrobials, and vasoactive-inotropic drug infusions are all key to…
Sedation is a mainstay of therapy for critically ill children. Although necessary in the care of the critically ill child, sedative drugs are associated with adverse effects, such as disruption…
Although many forms of critical illness are initiated by a proinflammatory stimulus, a compensatory anti-inflammatory response can occur with systemic inflammation. Immunoparalysis, an important form of acquired immunodeficiency, affects the…
Adjunctive therapies have been proposed for use in at least 5 inflammation pathobiology phenotypes in pediatric sepsis-induced multiple organ failure. This article discusses host-pathogen interaction prototypes to facilitate understanding of…
Respiratory support is required in most children in the pediatric intensive care unit. Decision-support tools (paper or electronic) have been shown to improve the quality of medical care, reduce errors,…
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious complication of critical illness. Surveillance definitions have undergone revisions for more objective and consistent reporting. The 1 organism–1 disease paradigm for microbial involvement may…
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a syndrome of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema and hypoxia that accompanies up to 30% of deaths in pediatric intensive care units. Pediatric ARDS (PARDS) is…
