Current status of pediatric neurocritical care in Argentina.

Introduction: Patients with neurocritical injuries account for 10-16 % of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions and frequently require neuromonitoring.

Objective: To describe the current status of neuromonitoring in Argentina.

Methods: Survey with 37 questions about neuromonitoring without including patients' data. Period: April-June 2017.

Results: Thirty-eight responses were received out of 71 requests (14 districts with 11 498 annual discharges). The PICU/hospital bed ratio was 21.9 (range: 4.2-66.7). Seventy-four percent of PICUs were public; 61 %, university-affiliated; and 71 %, level I. The availability of monitoring techniques was similar between public and private (percentages): intracranial pressure (95), electroencephalography (92), transcranial Doppler (53), evoked potentials (50), jugular saturation (47), and bispectral index (11). Trauma was the main reason for monitoring.

Conclusion: Except for intracranial pressure and electroencephalography, neuromonitoring resources are scarce and active neurosurgery availability is minimal. A PICU national registry is required.