Dept. of Pediatrics & Neonatology

Pediatrics & Neonatology department

Newborns admitted into the NICU are critically ill and require artificial life support technology. Typically, a very sick baby with life threatening illness / condition would be cared for here. The medical and nursing supervision and care is at the highest intensity here. Very premature babies, babies with serious infections, lung and heart conditions, and those with major birth defects involving the brain, heart, lungs and kidneys would be admitted here.
Medical support involves the use of highly sophisticated artificial breathing machines called 'ventilators' which are connected to the baby's windpipe through a special tube to provide 'lung support' to tide over the baby's crisis. These machines pump a mixture of oxygen and air at carefully set pressures to inflate the baby's lungs and in essence function as 'artificial lungs'
Many such newborns also require artificial heart and blood pressure support 'cardiovascular/hemodynamic support' with medicines given continuously through veins with infusion pumps. The newborn's vital functions and other parameters are continually 'monitored' on a second to second basis using electronic devices called 'multiparameter monitors'.
Supportive care involves administration of intravenous fluids, antibiotics, blood and blood products and frequent testing of various bodily functions such as oxygen levels in the blood, blood salt levels (electrolytes), etc.

Intensive Care Unit
Our ICU caters to the needs of children beyond one month of age and upto the age of fourteen years.
Children with critical illness, life threatening diseases and conditions, multiple injuries (trauma) sustained either through accidents, or diseases involving multiple vital organ systems are cared for in the Intensive Care Unit.
Critical care for children requires a thorough knowledge base of the various serious diseases affecting different age groups of children, prioritizing care and executing appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment in a timely fashion. Delay in diagnosis and treatment could have disastrous consequences.
All beds in the Intensive Care Unit are equipped with facilities to use ventilators (also called as 'respirators' or 'artificial breathing machines'), electronic monitoring of crucial life vital signs on a continuous basis (second to second) such as: heart rate, blood pressures respiratory rate and temperature monitoring. Each bed is equipped with infusion pumps and devices to pump medications and fluids continuously in variable quantities which are adjusted according to the needs of the patient.
Our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit is equipped to deal with any paediatric emergency and any complication arising from the disease processes of children admitted in the unit. Facilities such as drugs to improve heart pumping function, and the availability of other subspecialists support like Neurology (with bedside EEG), Cardiology (with bedside Echocardiography ), Radiology (with bedside X - ray, ultrasound scanning and Doppler facility), Neurosurgery , and Paediatric Surgery makes our unit unique and on par with those in developed countries.

Services offered include:

  • Diagnosis and treatment of minor ailments in children.
  • Professional advice on growth and development.
  • Advice on immunization.
  • Screening programs for Detection of Childhood Diseases.
  • Cross referral of patients to appropriate superspecialists as needed.

Promptness of service and the tender loving care meted to children by our nursing staff during the long outpatient waiting period for children , are our hallmarks.

CLEVELAND – Parents may never notice the high-tech developments that surround their tiny premature baby in what doctors are touting as the most technically advanced neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the world. That's because the technology of the new unit has been enveloped into an environment that mirrors the home and where critically ill preemies are treated in an atmosphere that provides safety and privacy for fragile infants and their families.

Consultants
Dr. Gajanand Yelme
Dr. Gajanand Yelme
M.D (Pediatrics)