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NICU

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is specialized in newborn babies requiring intensive medical care. The unit is equipped with advanced facilities and experienced and trained healthcare staff for round-the-clock monitoring of critically ill and preterm babies. Some newborns have problems in breathing, while others may have severe anemia that requires a blood transfusion. The team at the NICU comprises neonatologists, respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and dietitians.

Our offerings

  • Antibiotic Treatment: The experienced staff in the NICU at the hospital are experts in taking early and decisive treatment through potent antibiotics in neonates with suspicion of infection. Almost all premature or extremely low birth weight babies admitted to the NICU require antibiotics to prevent deadly bacterial infections.
  • Arterial Line: Inserting the peripheral arterial line (PAL) may pose certain complications. However, the pediatric consultants in the hospital NICU are experts in inserting the PAL in neonates to check blood pressure and draw blood when required. PAL is inserted in neonates with severe lung disease, blood pressure problems, or prolonged illness.
  • High-Frequency Nasal Cannula (HFNC): It is considered an alternative to non-invasive ventilatory interventions. The NICU staff uses HFNC to optimize spontaneous breathing by reducing the dead space and creating positive airway pressure. It is used when the neonate suffers from post-extubation, respiratory distress syndrome, or apnea of prematurity.
  • High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV): It is a lung protective strategy used in neonates suffering from acute lung injury. It is also used when there is a failure of mechanical ventilation. The other indications for HFOV are meconium aspiration syndrome, persistent pulmonary hypertension, severe respiratory distress syndrome, air leak syndrome, and pulmonary hypoplasia.
  • Bubble C-PAP: It is used in treating neonates suffering from respiratory distress. This non-invasive support intervention increased the lung functional residual capacity and was implemented to manage several respiratory conditions, such as congenital pneumonia, meconium aspiration syndrome, apnea, and pulmonary edema.
  • Exchange Transfusion: The exchange transfusion removes a significant amount of blood from the patient and replaces it with donor blood to eliminate abnormal components of blood and toxins. The indications for exchange transfusion are severe anemia, alloimmune hemolytic disease of the newborn, polycythemia, antibodies in maternal autoimmune disease, and significant unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia.
  • Phototherapy: The process of phototherapy involves the use of visible light for treating jaundice in neonates. Phototherapy aims to expose the child’s skin to as much light as possible. It helps remove the bilirubin from the blood by converting it into water-soluble isomers.
  • Nasogastric Tube Feeding: Nasogastric tubes deliver nutrition to neonates who cannot eat independently. The conditions in which the neonates cannot tolerate oral intake are immature suck swallow reflex, increased tachypnea with aspiration risk, impaired sucking reflex, necrotizing enterocolitis, gastric decompression, and abdominal surgery.
  • Therapeutic Hypothermia: It is a clinical treatment given to neonates suffering from moderate to severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. In this condition, there is brain dysfunction due to the reduced availability of oxygen and blood supply in the brain. In this treatment, the temperature of the patient is moderately reduced, thus lowering the metabolic processes and slowing disease progression.

Faq's

How long will a baby remain in the NICU?

The length of stay may range from several hours to weeks, depending upon the severity of the illness or level of premature birth. The stay is longer if the baby is more prematurely born or suffers from a severe illness. The baby is discharged from the NICU once he meets the discharge criteria, i.e., independent breathing, regulated body temperature, is fed by bottle or breast, and is gaining weight.

What are the common conditions for which the neonate can be admitted to NICU?

The common conditions due to which the newborn may be admitted to NICU are:

  • Breathing problems: These include apnea, pneumothorax, bradycardia, respiratory distress syndrome, meconium aspiration, pulmonary interstitial emphysema, and pulmonary hypertension.
  • Heart problems: A newborn with patent ductus arteriosus may also be admitted to the NICU.
  • Gastrointestinal problems: These include necrotizing enterocolitis and reflux.
  • Brain problems: Premature babies are at increased risk of intraventricular hemorrhage. Newborns with this condition are also admitted to the NICU.
  • Eye problems: These include alignment problems and retinopathy of prematurity.
  • Other problems: The other problems are jaundice and infection.

What are the tips for the parents to cope with the NICU?

Some of the tips for parents to cope with the NICU are:

  • Build healthy relationships with the medical staff, be informed about the baby's health and ask about your concerns with the doctor.
  • Perform relaxation exercises to cope with the stress
  • Search for a quiet place to have a rest
  • Eat well and seek support from family members and friends.