Management of External Ventricular Drains for Neuromonitoring and Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment in Pediatric Patients Outside of Intensive Care Units: A Single-Institution Retrospective Study

In brief

This retrospective study examines the safety of managing pediatric patients with external ventricular drains on a specialized neurotrauma floor rather than exclusively in the PICU. The research evaluates complication rates to determine whether this alternative care model is clinically appropriate for select pediatric neurosurgical patients.

• EVDs can be safely managed outside PICUs on specialized neurotrauma floors in pediatric patients.
• Institutional protocols often restrict EVD management to PICUs, but this may not be necessary with proper training.
• Single-institution data suggests neurotrauma floor EVD management does not increase complication rates.
• Specialized nursing training on neurotrauma units may enable safe EVD monitoring outside intensive care settings.
• This approach could optimize PICU bed utilization while maintaining patient safety for stable EVD patients.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.