Mechanical dysfunction of the respiratory system
Pearls • Workload and efficiency define the demands that disease imposes on the respiratory muscles and therefore are the relevant variables in the analysis of the mechanical function of the…
Gastrointestinal structure and function
Pearls • The alimentary tract is responsible for mechanical and enzymatic degradation of nutrients, absorption of biochemical substrates, hormone regulation of substrate flow, separation of the external from internal environments,…
Disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal system
• So much reliance is placed on electronic monitoring of patients that physicians are often tempted to perform only a cursory examination or go days without laying hands on the…
Bacterial and fungal infections
• Emergence of resistant organisms is increasing in critically ill patients, requiring clinicians to use alternative drug and dosing strategies and to become familiar with institutional-specific resistance profiles. • Infectious…
Hyperthermic injury
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 to 2010, 7415 deaths were attributable to excessive heat exposure or hyperthermia in the United States. • With…
Transfusion medicine
• The decision to prescribe the transfusion of any blood product must be based on individualized indications and must take into account specific health problems. • Acute severe anemia (hemoglobin…
Healthcare-associated infections
• Hand hygiene is foundational to infection control in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), including the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs); units should be relentless in pursuing compliance with…
Life-threatening viral diseases and their treatment
• Clinicians should obtain serum to store for future serologic testing when viral pathogens are considered as the potential cause of a critical illness. • Multiplex polymerase chain reaction panels…
Thrombosis in pediatric critical care
• Vascular access devices are the most common cause of thromboembolic disease in children; thus, every attempt should be made to limit their use based on real clinical need. •…
Acquired immune dysfunction
• Most patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit are immunosuppressed to varying degrees. • Secondary immune dysfunction happens because of dysregulation between proinflammatory and antiinflammatory responses that fail…
