Wondering what the difference between a PICU and a NICU is?
PICU stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, while NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Both units are essential to the overall care of children, but they do have some notable differences.
Let’s take a look at what those distinctions are in this article!
What Is PICU?
PICU stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It is a specialized unit that provides intensive and critical care to children who need it.
The primary goal of PICU is to stabilize the child’s condition and then transition them back to their regular hospital or home once they are stable enough to be discharged.
Role Of PICU Nurses
PICU nurses (also known as pediatric critical care nurses) are responsible for providing specialized care to children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries.
These nurses often work closely with doctors and other healthcare professionals to treat critically ill patients. Some of their duties include:
Monitoring a patient’s vital signs (such as heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure)
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Providing patient education and counseling on topics such as pain management and wound care
Administering medications prescribed by physicians or surgeons
Maintaining documentation of the patient's medical history
Performing diagnostic tests such as drawing blood samples, collecting urine samples, and performing chest X-rays
What Is NICU?
NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is a specialized unit that provides intensive and critical care to newborn babies who need it.
The primary goal of NICU is to stabilize the baby’s condition and then transition them back to their regular hospital or home once they are stable enough to be discharged.
The Role Of NICU Nurses
NICU nurses are specially trained to provide medical and nursing care to critically ill infants. These nurses must be able to handle the stressful environment of the NICU and provide the best possible care for each baby under their care.
The role of the NICU nurse involves the following:
Monitoring the health of each infant in the unit through observation and assessment.
Providing education about specific conditions affecting individual babies. This can include teaching parents how to administer medication and performing vital signs checks on infants multiple times each day.
Performing therapeutic procedures such as administering drugs via IV lines, suctioning airways, performing external heart massages, changing equipment, and monitoring vital signs during transport between facilities when necessary.
What's The Difference Between PICU and NICU?
The difference between the PICU and NICU is due to the fact that they treat different age groups of children. PICU cares for children between the ages of birth and 18 years old, while NICU cares for newborn infants who have been born prematurely or with medical issues.
In addition to being able to treat patients with more serious conditions than those treated in a regular pediatric ward, both units specialize in treating children who may require mechanical ventilation or dialysis.
Another major difference between PICU and NICU is that PICUs tend to be larger than NICUs since they accept patients from all over the country, while NICUs accept only local patients.
Here are some of the other differences:
Equipments
NICUs have more advanced equipment than PICUs. For example, they use ventilators to help premature babies breathe and incubators to keep them warm. They also use monitors that can detect heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and other vital signs.
Some NICUs even have special lights called phototherapy lights that help infants develop properly by stimulating their brains with light waves similar to sunlight on a clear day.
Age Range
The age range at which you can be admitted to each unit depends on your condition. A child needs to be at least six months old to be admitted to a PICU, while a baby can be admitted to a NICU as soon as they are born prematurely or has been diagnosed with a medical condition requiring long-term care.
Length of Stay
The average length of stay (LOS) in a PICU is 5 days, while the average LOS in a NICU is 6-7 days. The reason for this difference is that most babies with medical problems will be discharged from the hospital within a few days after they are born.
However, if your baby needs to spend more time in the NICU or transfer to another hospital, their stay could be longer than 7 days.
Type of Care
PICUs provide acute care for sick children, while NICUs specializes in providing long-term intensive care for those with complex medical problems such as prematurity or congenital heart disease (CHD).
Similarities Between Both Units
Some of the similarities include the following:
Both PICUs and NICUs treat patients who are at high risk for complications during surgery or other medical procedures
Both PICUs and NICUs must have staff on hand 24 hours a day to provide around-the-clock care for their patients
Both PICUs and NICUs use specialized equipment that requires training to operate properly.
Both units are staffed with doctors and nurses who specialize in pediatrics.
NICU vs. PICU: Which Speciality Should You Choose As a Nurse?
NICU and PICU are both specialties that have their own unique challenges, but the choice of which one you choose to specialize in comes down to whether you prefer working with newborns or children.
While both NICUs and PICUs care for children, premature babies in a NICU are typically yonger than those in a PICU.
In both specialties, nurses must be prepared to deal with high-risk situations such as intraventricular hemorrhages, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), and hypoglycemia, among other conditions.
In order to work in either field, you will need an extensive background in medical terminology and knowledge of how to administer medications safely.
Conclusion - PICU VS NICU!
We hope that this article has been an interesting read, and we hope it has answered all your questions.
We want to remind you that while we have tried to make this as comprehensive as possible, the information presented is only a brief summary of some of the differences between PICU vs NICU.
If you want to learn more about either unit or if there are any other questions that we didn’t address, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
FAQs
Q#1. In which situation do infants go to NICU?
Infants can go to the NICU for a variety of different reasons:
If your baby has been born prematurely, he will be admitted to the NICU. Premature babies have an increased risk of complications, so it's important that they receive any necessary tests as soon as possible after birth.
Your newborn may also be admitted to the NICU if they have developed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
RDS is a serious condition that affects infants' lungs and breathing ability. If your newborn shows signs of RDS, they'll likely need oxygen therapy and other interventions to help them breathe properly.
Your baby may also be admitted to the NICU if they are having trouble feeding or gaining weight. In some cases, you may need to supplement their diet with special formulas until they're able to eat normally.
Q#2. Why do children get admitted to PICU?
Children are admitted to PICU for a variety of reasons, but most commonly, it's because they are experiencing some kind of respiratory distress. Their breathing may be shallow or irregular, and they may be unable to eat or drink enough to meet their nutritional needs.
Q#3. How many patients does a PICU nurse typically have?
The number of patients a PICU nurse typically varies widely, depending on the unit's needs. In general, however, nurses in PICUs are tasked with managing a large number of patients at once.
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