The PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) room is an intensive care room in a hospital, for children with serious health problems or who are in critical condition. Children treated at PICU range from 28-day-old infants to 18-year-old teenagers.
Children who are treated in the PICU room will get full supervision from general practitioners, specialist doctors, and nurses.
In addition, various medical equipment is also provided in this room to treat critical children. The duration of child care in the PICU room varies, depending on the development of the child's health condition.
Condition of Children Needing Care in the PICU Room
Children need to be treated in the PICU room if their medical needs cannot be met in an ordinary treatment room. Conditions that can be the reason for children needing care in the PICU room include:
- Serious respiratory disorders, such as severe asthma, choking on foreign bodies, pneumonia, and acute respiratory failure syndrome (ARDS).
- Serious infections, such as bacterial meningitis and sepsis.
- Shock and serious injury, for example due to traffic accidents, falls from height, dehydration, heavy bleeding, burns, or electric shock.
- Disorders of the brain, such as tumors, coma, epilepsy, and status epilepticus.
- Severe metabolic disorders, such as electrolyte disturbances, disorders of blood acid base balance (alkaliosis and acidosis), and diabetic ketoacidosis.
- Blood disorders, such as severe anemia and blood cancer (leukemia).
- Drug poisoning or other chemicals, such as kerosene.
- Severe organ damage, such as kidney failure and liver failure, or severe cardiac abnormalities
- Birth defects.
Children who have recently undergone major operations, such as cardiac, neurosurgery, orthopedics (bone), also ENT, or organ transplants and amputations also require temporary recovery time in the PICU room, before being transferred to the general care room.
Treatment and Medical Equipment Available in the PICU Room
Like the intensive care room (ICU) in a hospital, the PICU room is also guarded 24 hours by a medical team that works alternately in the shift work system, to monitor and treat patients.
The PICU room is generally kept quiet, where not many people are allowed to visit, and the number of patients is less than the general care room. The goal is to prevent the patient from infection.
The medical devices contained in the PICU room include:
1. Infusion
Almost all children who are treated in the PICU room have intravenous drips inserted, to get fluids, blood and medication through the veins. This infusion is usually attached to the arm or hand, but sometimes it can also be attached to the child's foot, leg, or scalp.
2. Central venous catheter
To monitor a child's critical condition, the doctor may install a special hose on the child's neck. This tube will be placed in the veins behind the heart (vena cava) through the neck, to monitor the pressure in the blood vessels, the stability of blood flow and oxygen levels.
3. Special medicines
Certain medications can only be given to patients with special supervision, including pediatric patients in the PICU room. Examples of these drugs are dobutamine, dopamine, epinephrine, and morphine or fentanyl. Its usefulness varies, from helping the function of the heart, maintaining blood pressure, to relieving pain.
4. Monitor vital signs
In the PICU room, there are various devices that are attached to the child's body and connected to the monitor screen to monitor the child's vital signs. Some of them are heart rate recording devices (electrocardiograms), blood pressure, respiratory rate, body temperature, and oxygen levels (oximeter).
5. Breathing aids
For children who can breathe on their own, they usually have an oxygen tube or mask attached to their nose or face, which is connected to an oxygen cylinder.
Whereas for children who have severe respiratory distress or coma and cannot breathe on their own, the doctor will attach a ventilator to their respiratory tract. Previously, the doctor will first perform an intubation to install a pipe or tube (ETT) in the child's throat through the mouth. Then the pipe will be connected to a ventilator machine to help breathing.
6. Heart shock device
Children who are treated at PICU are at high risk for cardiac arrest because of their critical condition. Therefore, a child's special cardiac shock device must be available in the PICU room. This heart shock device will be used when the child's heart rhythm starts to be irregular, or not detected.
While in the PICU room, doctors will periodically conduct physical examinations on critical pediatric patients. If needed, the doctor will also do blood, urine, cerebrospinal and spinal cord, X-ray, or ultrasound examination.
The existence of the PICU room in the hospital is very important to assist the handling of children with critical conditions. Pediatricians will recommend treatment in the PICU room if the child's condition needs to be closely monitored and as much care as possible.
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