Multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome
• Pediatric multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) represents the leading final pathway to death in children who suffer critical illness triggered by acute insults such as sepsis (leading cause of MODS),…
RHEUMATOLOGY
Hepatic transplantation
Pearls • Liver transplantation (LT) has become the standard of care for children with end-stage or metabolic liver disease, acute liver failure, and unresectable liver tumors, with most common indication…
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…
