Pediatric Neurocritical Care and Neurohospitalist Program 

What is pediatric neurocritical care? 

Pediatric neurocritical care (sometimes called neurointensive care) focuses on diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles of children requiring care in an intensive care unit.  

Conditions we treat 

We care for critically ill and injured children with recent, serious issues affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. Our team treats infants and children with neurologic issues related to: 

  • Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) 

  • Autoimmune encephalitis 

  • Brain vessel malformations (with new, severe complications) 

  • Cardiac arrest 

  • Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) 

  • Coma and other disorders of consciousness 

  • Demyelinating disease 

  • Emergency complications of malignancies of the brain and spinal cord 

  • Hepatic encephalopathy due to acute liver failure 

  • Infection of the spinal cord and brain 

  • Intracranial hemorrhage 

  • Mitochondrial disorders 

  • Neurologic complications of medications, including chemotherapy and radiation 

  • Neuromuscular emergencies, including Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), infant botulism, and myasthenia gravis 

  • Seizures and status epilepticus (seizures that last longer than 5 minutes) 

  • Stroke 

  • Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury 

  • Neurologic complications of critical illness

Neurocritical care at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital 

Our neurocritical care staff includes highly trained physicians skilled at managing critically ill, medically complex children with neurologic problems. Our physicians have special training in pediatric neurocritical care, ICU EEG (electroencephalogram; brain waves) and neurovascular diseases (diseases of the blood vessels, including stroke). Our team partners with colleagues in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (PCTU) to better serve our patients through a multidisciplinary approach.   

Neurocritical care services are available 24/7 to follow your child from their arrival in the emergency room (ER) or ICU through their recovery at home. We offer in-patient consultation services and an outpatient Neurocritical Care Follow-Up Clinic.

There are several other factors that make C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital a destination for neurocritical care, including:  

  • State-of-the-art neuromonitoring. Our staff are trained to use multiple forms of technology to monitor your child’s neurologic status at bedside during their ICU stay. This includes continuous EEG monitoring, near infrared spectroscopy, intracranial pressure monitoring and skilled neurologic examination. 

  • A multidisciplinary approach to your child’s care. Our neurocritical care team understands the importance of working together with other specialists in the hospital to deliver the best care possible to your child.   

  • Patient and family-centered care. We recognize the importance of parent involvement in every step of your child’s care during their hospitalization. We participate in family-centered rounds and will ensure close communication with families to ensure you are well-informed of your child’s neurologic status, any additional evaluation we might need, the treatment plan and prognosis. 

In-Patient Neurocritical Care Services 

Our team will meet your child in the hospital when a neurologic problem is suspected or identified. We will care for them in conjunction with your ICU team throughout their hospital stay. 

We partner with the following teams to provide the best multidisciplinary care to your child: 

  • Nutritional services

Tests That We Offer 

  • Electroencephalogram (EEG) 

  • Quantitative EEG (qEEG) 

  • Electromyogram (EMG) and nerve conduction studies 

  • Cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy 

  • MRI of the brain and spine 

  • MR angiogram and venogram 

  • CT of the head 

  • CT angiogram and venogram 

  • Cranial ultrasound for infants  

  • MR spectroscopy 

  • Catheter angiogram (also known as conventional angiogram) 

  • Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan 

  • Metabolic and genetic testing 

  • Cerebrospinal fluid analysis

In-Patient Neurohospitalist Services 

When your child is ready to transition out of the ICU, our team of neurohospitalists are ready to continue providing neurologic care. A neurohospitalist is a neurologist who focuses on caring for children in the hospital with neurologic conditions. Our team works with other pediatric specialty teams to continue your child on the path to neurologic recovery and adaptation to any new symptoms, in preparation for being able to take your child home. 

Out-Patient Neurocritical Care Services 

If your child requires on-going care with a specialized neurologist, we will arrange to have them seen in our Neurocritical Care Follow-Up Clinic. Our follow-up clinic ensures ongoing care from neurology specialists to ensure the best recovery possible. 

Services offered will depend on your child’s specific needs, but could include the following:  

  • Adjustment of medications. 

  • Assessing the need for therapy services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy. 

  • Discussing any additional testing that may be needed to track your child’s progress. 

  • Providing support for transitioning back to school. 

  • Screening and referring for neuropsychologic assessment. A neuropsychologist is a professional trained in evaluation of your child’s brain function as it relates to behavior, emotion and cognition. 

  • Evaluating your child for signs and symptoms of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can include new problems with sleep, physical limitation, cognitive changes and mental health issues that arise in relation to experiencing a life-threatening illness. We also recognize that family members can experience significant symptoms after supporting their child through an ICU stay (post-intensive care syndrome-family, or PICS-F). We offer resources for children and their families as they recover. 

How to Schedule an Appointment 

Our in-patient coordinators will help you schedule an appointment in our Neurocritical Care Follow-Up Clinic prior to your child’s discharge from the hospital. 

For information about scheduling an appointment, please call 734-936-4179.