Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Stuart L. Goldstein When acute renal failure occurs in critically ill patients, severe cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic instability may contraindicate standard intermittent dialysis techniques. In such…
Acute Hemodialysis Stuart L. Goldstein Hemodialysis is a treatment used to augment or replace renal excretory function. Most water-soluble substances that are not protein- or tissue-bound in the extracellular fluid…
Acute Peritoneal Dialysis Eileen D. Brewer Arundhati S. Kale Peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy has been used for decades to treat acute and chronic renal failure in children because it is…
Abdominal Paracentesis Eileen D. Brewer Abdominal paracentesis is a useful procedure to obtain diagnostic information for evaluation of ascites, peritonitis, and intraperitoneal hemorrhage or to initiate therapeutic interventions, such as…
Tracheostomy Fernando Stein Jorge M. Karam Nadeem I. Shafi A tracheostomy is an opening created surgically through the neck and into the trachea (windpipe). A tracheostomy tube usually is placed…
Extubation Fernando Stein Jorge M. Karam When the indications that prompted endotracheal intubation no longer exist, extubation should be executed carefully. Three major concerns in the removal of a tube…
Intubation Fernando Stein Jorge M. Karam Because most instances of cardiac arrest in children are caused by respiratory failure, the ability to intubate the trachea is a skill every pediatrician…
Intracranial Pressure Measurements Fernando Stein An elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP) is a common complication in patients with head injury, neoplasia, cerebral vascular accidents, infections, or metabolic disorders. ICP is…
Echocardiography Jason T. Su Thomas A. Vargo Echocardiography is the diagnostic gold standard for the evaluation of cardiac anatomy and myocardial function in most pediatric patients in the intensive care…
Measurement of Cardiac Output Carmen C. Cosio Thomas A. Vargo Cardiac output is an important hemodynamic variable in the assessment of cardiovascular function. Cardiac output (liters per minute) equals the…
