Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at American Hospital Dubai caters to the critical care needs of almost the entire pediatric population from 1 month to 18 years of age. We are able to look after children with a variety of life-threatening conditions and restore them to their pre-morbid state. It is led by staff trained in the west and supported by a dedicated team of multidisciplinary professionals devoted to supporting the family during, what can be, one of the most stressful times in their life.
- Life-threatening conditions that we routinely treat
- Severe chest infections due to bacterial and viral pathogens
- Asthma
- Croup
- Septicemia
- Prolonged seizures (Status Epilepticus)
- Trauma including head injury
- Neurological conditions such as meningitis, encephalitis, coma due to any cause
- Patients requiring long term ventilation and transition to home ventilation
- Complex fluid and electrolyte disturbances from SIADH, Diabetes Insipidus and salt wasting
- Recovery following complex surgery on the bowels, chest, brain and other vital organs
Apart from the medical team, our multidisciplinary team include:
- PICU trained nurses
- Pediatric Pharmacists
- Pediatric Dietitians
- Respiratory Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Occupational Therapists
The range of technical services provided, to name a few, are as follows:
- Mechanical respiratory support – non-invasive, invasive (conventional, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation)
- Inhaled nitric oxide
- Hemodynamic monitoring using indwelling arterial catheters, central venous catheters, and therapy with vasoactive medications
- Echocardiography (ECHO), electrocardiography (ECG)
- Intracranial pressure monitoring and management of raised intracranial pressure
- Nutritional supplementation via nasogastric, nasojejunal, or parenteral nutrition
- Renal replacement therapy using peritoneal dialysis and continuous venovenous hemofiltration
- Post-tracheostomy care
- Ultrasound-guided procedures such as insertion of invasive arterial, central venous, and hemofiltration catheters, urinary catheters, chest drains, nasojejunal tube insertions, and insertion of long-term intravenous access.
