Pearls • Hydrocephalus is a common brain disease characterized by a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain, causing elevated intracranial pressure. Untreated hydrocephalus can be a medical emergency, requiring…
Pearls • As intracranial hypertension progresses, changes may occur in the vital signs, with an elevation of blood pressure, decrease or increase in pulse, and irregularity in the respiratory rhythm….
Pearls • Common causes of acute flaccid paralysis in childhood include Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), acute flaccid myelitis, botulism, tick paralysis, periodic paralyses, and organophosphate poisoning. • Risk factors for respiratory…
Pearls • Much of the practice of brain-directed critical care in children is empiric, but studies in traumatic brain injury show that protocol-directed care with multidisciplinary teams in the intensive…
Pearls • In humans, general central nervous system anatomy is established by birth. However, the brain undergoes substantial postnatal development, including changes in synaptic density and dendritic arborization, maturation of…
Pearls • Modern respiratory care requires a major institutional commitment in resource allocation for state-of the-art management of the pediatric patient requiring mechanical ventilation. • A comprehensive and unified approach…
Pearls • Pediatric lung transplantation is an accepted option for children of all ages who have end-stage, life-threatening disease and all medical options for treatment have been exhausted. • Outcomes…
Pearls • A seizure is a paroxysmal central nervous system disorder resulting from excessive hypersynchronous discharge of cortical neurons. • Status epilepticus is a common pediatric neurologic emergency that requires…
Pearls • Coma is a state of unconsciousness with lack of awareness and loss of wakefulness. • A Glasgow Coma Scale score of less than 15 in children should be…
Pearls • The wide availability, ease of use, and low-risk profile of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) make it an attractive alternative to intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation. Consequently, its use is…
