Deviations from NIRS-derived optimal blood pressure are associated with worse outcomes after pediatric cardiac arrest.

Aim: Evaluate cerebrovascular autoregulation (CAR) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) after pediatric cardiac arrest and determine if deviations from CAR-derived optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) are associated with outcomes.

Methods: CAR was quantified by a moving, linear correlation between time-synchronized mean arterial pressure (MAP) and regional cerebral oxygenation, called cerebral oximetry index (COx). MAP was calculated using a multi-window weighted algorithm.

Routine Neurological Assessments by Nurses in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Brain injury with changes in clinical neurological signs and symptoms can develop while children are undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit. Critical care nurses routinely screen for neurological decline by using serial bedside neurological assessments. However, assessment components, frequency, and communication thresholds are not standardized.

Inter-Rater Reliability Between Critical Care Nurses Performing a Pediatric Modification to the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Objectives: Estimate the inter-rater reliability of critical care nurses performing a pediatric modification of the Glasgow Coma Scale in a contemporary PICU.

Design: Prospective observation study.

Setting: Large academic PICU.