Abstract
Despite multiple advances in neuroimaging, monitoring of intracranial hemodynamics, and electrodiagnosis, serial neurological examinations remains the primary method to detect clinical changes in the child with potential or ongoing neurologic impairment. Neurologic dysfunction must be discriminated from sedation, residual anesthesia, neuromuscular blockade and psychological adjustment to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) environment. Toxins, infections, metabolic diseases and hypoxia tend to cause generalized cerebral dysfunction with relative sparing of the brainstem structures. Tumors, trauma and focal ischemia tend to cause localized lesions that can manifest as neurologic dysfunction involving the cerebral hemispheres, brainstem or both.
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Scarlett, E.E., Peachey, B.N., Gotoff, J.M. (2012). Assessment of Neurologic Function. In: Lucking, S., Maffei, F., Tamburro, R., Thomas, N. (eds) Pediatric Critical Care Study Guide. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-923-9_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-923-9_8
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