Delirium in Critically Ill Children: An International Point Prevalence Study.

Objectives: To determine prevalence of delirium in critically ill children and explore associated risk factors.

Design: Multi-institutional point prevalence study.

Setting: Twenty-five pediatric critical care units in the United States, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.

The utility of near infrared spectroscopy in detecting intracranial hemorrhage in children.

A prospective case-control study was conducted in a tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to evaluate the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the detection of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in children. Subjects 0-14 years of age who had a computed tomography (CT) scan of the head performed as part of clinical care were eligible for enrollment. The children were stratified into two groups based on whether the CT was normal or abnormal.

α-Synuclein levels are elevated in cerebrospinal fluid following traumatic brain injury in infants and children: the effect of therapeutic hypothermia.

α-Synuclein is one of the most abundant proteins in presynaptic terminals. Normal expression of α-synuclein is essential for neuronal survival and it prevents the initiation of apoptosis in neurons through covalent cross-linking of cytochrome c released from mitochondria. Exocytosis of α-synuclein occurs with neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction, making its detection in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) a potentially important marker of injury.

Endothelin-1 is increased in cerebrospinal fluid and associated with unfavorable outcomes in children after severe traumatic brain injury.

Severe pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with unfavorable outcomes secondary to injury from activation of the inflammatory cascade, the release of excitotoxic neurotransmitters, and changes in the reactivity of cerebral vessels, causing ischemia. Hypoperfusion of injured brain tissues after TBI is also associated with unfavorable outcomes. Therapeutic hypothermia is an investigational treatment strategy for use in patients with severe TBI that has shown differential effects on various cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) mediators in pediatric patients.