We're all about children!
 July 2005
This edition:
Letter from the Chair
I'm pleased that we are highlighting our critical care division in this issue of Kids Connection. Some of the most traumatic situations lead to some of the most incredible miracles. The compassionate and caring critical care team at our children's hospital plays an important role in providing extraordinary health care every day. We often refer to them as our "miracle workers." Conditions that our critical care team treats are very serious and require an intense level of care. Thankfully, when my patients are admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) or receive care through our emergency department I know they are in good hands. I know their chances of doing well are dramatically improved under the care of our critical care specialists. When you enter our PICU, you feel the energy, the vigilance and the caring atmosphere. The room pulses with fear but a sense of hope and promise drive each and every caregiver in the room. I have talked to many families whose children have been near death and have received care from our critical care division. These parents remember every member of their child's health care team. Through my conversations with these families it is remarkable the level of respect they have for this division. They remember the caring nurses who became their best friends during their child's stay. They remember the child life specialist that helped eliminate fears for their child. They remember the social worker that provided recommendations on where to eat and places to stay. Our PICU is the region's largest and most sophisticated critical care unit for children and a critical part of our children's hospital. It's a training ground for future physicians, a safety net for our patients and a place where miracles happen every day. Sincerely,  L. Lyndon Key, MD Chair, Department of Pediatrics Feature Story: Critical Care
Four attending physicians provide 24-hour coverage for the 10-bed unit and along side residents, nurses and many allied health providers provide care to critically-ill babies and children through age 18. The nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 ensures that each patient is attended to with the best possible care and very close attention. Everyone on the unit works closely together and values the open-communication philosophy. They understand the importance of working as a team. The PICU is a medical/surgical unit and sees pre- and post-operative surgery patients admitted for plastics and ENT cases, scoliosis repair, shunt implantation, removal of brain tumors and vascular malformations and a host of general surgery conditions. Medical cases include children that have been recently diagnosed with diabetes or those suffering from a relapse, children involved in motor vehicle accidents and those suffering from child abuse and neglect. "In the winter, we see a large number of children suffering from respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia," says Dr. Habib. "In the summer, we see a lot of children involved in motor vehicle accidents and children that suffering from head trauma due to not wearing a helmet while ride their bike. We also see a fair amount of near-drowning. The summer also brings quite a bit of encephalitis from Mosquito-born illnesses. We also treat a significant number of asthmatics in conjunction with our colleagues in pediatric pulmonology." Collaboration with physicians in other specialties is a hallmark of this division. "Because we are a children's hospital, we have access to specialists in a variety of areas who can quickly get involved in difficult cases," says Dr. Habib. "This is a huge benefit to our patients because we can bring in many points-of-view to ensure we come up with the best treatment plan. We also know that with talented researchers working in the Darby Children's Research Institute, we will be among the first to have the latest treatments available. For example, Dr. Singh's recent discovery highlighted in this issue of Kids Connection is an excellent example of emerging compounds that can protect the brain from injury following trauma, near-drowning or other diseases that cause cells in the brain to swell and die." No two days are the same in the PICU, though each day does begin with patient rounds with the attending physician, the residents, a pediatric pharmacist, respiratory therapist, nutritionist and the bedside nurse. Child life therapists, social workers and chaplains are within easy reach to help patients and their families deal with the many social issues surrounding their illness or injury. The critical care division and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit are an ever present and ever ready presence for the children of South Carolina. They provide top-level, excellent care to critically-ill children while continuously seeking opportunities to improve the service they provide through networking with leading researchers at MUSC in the Darby Children's Research Institute. Message from the Medical Director
In step with trends nationwide, we have had an increasing need for critical care beds and staff, which comes in part from the increasing complexity of cases being admitted to the hospital, and in part from the increasing incidence of very low birth weight infants requiring neonatal care. To address these expanding needs, the Children's Hospital has recently added a 12-bed unit for neonates and will soon open a 12-bed dedicated pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. These units will allow for expansion of current service and eliminate constraints currently placed on existing units that are often at maximum capacity. We are also in the early planning stages for building a new neonatal unit that will house all of the newborns needing low or high complexity care. By planning ahead and building for the future, we will be ready to translate the research breakthroughs being developed in the CRI into the clinical arena and ultimately ensure we are providing the best possible care for our patients. Children's Research Institute News Brief
The importance of this finding is that it may change the paradigm of therapy from one that has focused on preventing the death of damaged cells to that of ensuring that dead cells can be replaced by a vibrant reserve of cells. The new reserve cells would be protected pharmacologically from damaging effects of brain inflammation. It is precisely this type of basic research and discovery that should be translated into clinical applications to help future children and teens admitted to the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. Research of this kind can provide miraculous care to those children suffering from trauma, infection, and near-drowning that all cause inflammation and loss of vital brain cells. Mental Health Resource News Brief An estimated 10 to 20 percent of women struggle with major depression before, during and after delivery of a baby. Perinatal depression has substantial personal consequences and interferes with the quality of child-rearing, adversely affecting parent-child interactions, maternal responsiveness to infant vocalizations and gestures and other stimulation essential for optimal child development. Early detection is uncommon even though it is known to improve maternal well-being and child outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes the importance of pediatric practitioner involvement in early detection of maternal perinatal depression. Providers are encouraged to screen at several points including prenatal or postpartum visits, infant well-child or episodic visits. Resources available:
A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month. Managing Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA Publisher: Jessica Munday (Trio Solutions Inc.) Web design: Jennifer Cherock (Trio Solutions Inc.) and Brian Dadin (Trio Solutions Inc.) Contributing Writers: Lyndon Key, MD; Bernard Maria, MD; Inderjit Singh, PhD, Phillip Saul, MD, Michelle Macias, MD, Eve Spratt, MD and Rebecca Ceraul (Trio Solutions, Inc.) |
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