Recognizing the Difference between NICU and PICU

In addition to adults, there are also special care facilities for infants and children at the hospital. Two of these facilities is NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). Awhat is the difference between NICU and PICU?

Both types of health facilities are intended for infants and children with critical conditions requiring intensive care. To find out more about the differences between NICU and PICU and their functions, see the following explanation.

Difference between NICU and PICU

Although at first glance they seem similar, NICU and PICU actually have the following differences:

NICU

NICU is an intensive care unit provided specifically for newborns with critical conditions or have serious health problems. The age range of patients who are treated in the NICU room is from newborns to babies aged 28 days.

Some of the conditions that make babies need treatment in the NICU are babies who are born prematurely, have severe congenital defects, experience respiratory failure, have severe infections (sepsis), suffer from dehydration, or experience heavy bleeding.

The NICU room is equipped with a variety of medical equipment to treat critical conditions, including:

• breathing apparatus

  In the NICU room there are various breathing aids, such as oxygen cylinders, oxygen hoses or masks, and ventilator machines. This equipment is used to help babies who have difficulty breathing or cannot breathe at all. In treating babies with severe respiratory distress, doctors often need to intubate to install a breathing tube which will then be connected to a ventilator machine, to help the baby breathe.

• baby warmer (infant warmer)

  Newborns, especially premature babies, have less fat tissue and are therefore at risk for colds or hypothermia. Therefore, a baby warmer is needed to keep his body temperature warm.

• Incubator

  An incubator is a device in the form of a special box for babies with walls made of thick and transparent plastic that has a temperature control to prevent the baby from being cold. This tool also serves to protect the baby from infection.

• Monitor vital signs

  In the NICU room there is a monitor to monitor the baby's vital signs, which include oxygen levels in the blood, respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature, and baby's blood pressure. The NICU room is also equipped with various other tools needed to support the baby's health, such as a device for phototherapy and a feeding tube that will be attached to the baby's nose or mouth for breastfeeding or formula milk.

PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)

Unlike the NICU which is specifically for newborns up to 28 days of age, the PICU is reserved for babies over the age of 1 month and children aged 1 to 18 years with critical conditions.

These severe and potentially fatal conditions in older infants and children requiring care in the PICU include severe asthma, severe dehydration, bleeding from serious injury or accident, sepsis, organ failure, poisoning, and meningitis.

Infants and children who have recently had major surgery also usually need to be treated for some time in the PICU.

Similar to the NICU, the PICU room is also equipped with various medical equipment to monitor and care for the critical condition of infants and children, from incubators, phototherapy equipment, ventilator machines, oxygen cylinders, to special cardiac shock devices for children.

Treatment in RNICU and PICU money

Apart from being equipped with various medical equipment, the PICU and NICU rooms are also equipped with various emergency medicines, such as dobutamine and epinephrine, which can be needed at any time if the patient's condition becomes critical.

While being treated in this intensive room, infants and children with critical conditions will be closely monitored and evaluated by a medical team consisting of general practitioners, pediatricians, and nurses. The difference is that the NICU is led by a pediatrician who is a neonatologist, while the PICU is led by a pediatrician who is an ERIA expert.

In this intensive room, parents can accompany sick children, but the number of other visitors and visiting times will be limited. The goal is to create a calm and comfortable atmosphere for the patient, and to prevent the patient from contracting infection.

The principle of handling critical infant and pediatric patients in this intensive care unit is actually not much different. The difference between NICU and PICU lies in the patient's age group, which of course will affect the type and size of the equipment in it.