Pediatric Neurocritical Care & Neurohospitalist Program

Pediatric Neurocritical Care & Neurohospitalist Program

  • About
  • Approach
  • Services
  • Appointments
  • Research
  • Locations
  • Doctors
  • Providers

    • Pediatric neurocritical care (sometimes called neurointensive care) focuses on diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles of children in an intensive care unit. 

    Our neurocritical care staff includes highly trained physicians skilled at managing critically ill, medically complex children with neurologic problems. Our physicians have special training in pediatric neurocritical care, ICU EEG (electroencephalogram; brain waves) and neurovascular diseases (diseases of the blood vessels, including stroke).

    Our Approach

    Our team partners with colleagues in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), pediatric pulmonology, and pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (PCTU) to better serve our patients through a multidisciplinary approach.  

    Neurocritical care services are available 24/7 to follow your child from their arrival in the emergency room (ER) or ICU through their recovery at home. We offer in-patient consultation services and an outpatient Neurocritical Care Follow-Up Clinic.

    There are several other factors that make C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital a destination for neurocritical care, including:  

    • State-of-the-art neuromonitoring. Our staff are trained to use multiple forms of technology to monitor your child’s neurologic status at bedside during their ICU stay. This includes continuous EEG monitoring, near infrared spectroscopy, intracranial pressure monitoring and skilled neurologic examination. 

    • A multidisciplinary approach to your child’s care. Our neurocritical care team understands the importance of working together with other specialists in the hospital to deliver the best care possible to your child.   

    • Patient and family-centered care. We recognize the importance of parent involvement in every step of your child’s care during their hospitalization. We participate in family-centered rounds and will ensure close communication with families to ensure you are well-informed of your child’s neurologic status, any additional evaluation we might need, the treatment plan and prognosis. 

    Services

     Conditions

    • Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) 

    • Autoimmune encephalitis 

    • Brain vessel malformations (with new, severe complications) 

    • Cardiac arrest 

    • Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) 

    • Coma and other disorders of consciousness 

    • Demyelinating disease 

    • Emergency complications of malignancies of the brain and spinal cord 

    • Hepatic encephalopathy due to acute liver failure 

    • Infection of the spinal cord and brain 

    • Intracranial hemorrhage 

    • Mitochondrial disorders 

    • Neurologic complications of medications, including chemotherapy and radiation 

    • Neuromuscular emergencies, including Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), infant botulism, and myasthenia gravis 

    • Pompe disease

    • Seizures and status epilepticus (seizures that last longer than 5 minutes) 

    • Stroke 

    • Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury 

    • Neurologic complications of critical illness

         Testing

    • Electroencephalogram (EEG) 

    • Quantitative EEG (qEEG) 

    • Electromyogram (EMG) and nerve conduction studies 

    • Cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy 

    • MRI of the brain and spine 

    • MR angiogram and venogram 

    • CT of the head 

    • CT angiogram and venogram 

    • Cranial ultrasound for infants  

    • MR spectroscopy 

    • Catheter angiogram (also known as conventional angiogram) 

    • Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan 

    • Metabolic and genetic testing 

    • Cerebrospinal fluid analysis

         Treatments

    In-Patient Neurocritical Care Services 

    • Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) 

    • Pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (PCTU) 

    • Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) 

    • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 

    • Neurosurgery 

    • Neuroradiology 

    • Occupational therapy

    • Physical therapy

    • Speech-language pathology 

    • Palliative care 

    • Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics 

    • Nutritional services

    Out-Patient Neurocritical Care Services 

    • Adjustment of medications

    • Assessing the need for therapy services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy

    • Discussing any additional testing that may be needed to track your child’s progress

    • Providing support for transitioning back to school

    • Screening and referring for neuropsychologic assessment 

    • Evaluating your child for signs and symptoms of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can include new problems with sleep, physical limitation, cognitive changes and mental health issues that arise in relation to experiencing a life-threatening illness
       

    Appointment Information

    Our in-patient coordinators will help you schedule an appointment in our Neurocritical Care Follow-Up Clinic prior to your child’s discharge from the hospital. 

    For information about scheduling an appointment, please call 734-936-4179.

    Research

    Our specialists are involved in national and international research involving advances in the field of pediatric neurocritical care. This includes participation in the International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS), institutional membership to the Pediatric Neurocritical Care Research Group (PNCRG), primary site of the Pediatric Quantitative EEG Strategic Task Force (PedQuEST) and a participating site in the Neonatal Seizure Registry (NSR). 

    Locations
    • Pediatric Neurology Clinic | Brighton Center for Specialty Care 7500 Challis Rd
      Entrance 1, Level 2
      Brighton, MI 48116-9416       Get Directions
    • Pediatric Neurology Clinic | C. S. Mott Children's Hospital 1540 E Hospital Dr
      Floor 6 Reception C
      Ann Arbor, MI 48109-4234       Get Directions

    Doctors

     Search for a U-M Health doctor     Giulia Marian Benedetti, MD

    Giulia Marian Benedetti, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor

    Epileptologists, Neurology, Pediatrics

    Angad Kochar, MD

    Angad Kochar, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Child Neurology, Pediatrics

    Nicole Pariseau, MD

    Nicole Pariseau, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Child Neurology

    Michigan Photo

    Kristen Ann Smith, MD, MS, FAAP

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Pediatrics

    Taryn-Leigh Surtees, MD

    Taryn-Leigh Surtees, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Child Neurology

    Providers

     Search for a U-M Health provider     labcoat

    Abigail Ruth Apple, NP

    Advanced Practice Nurse

    Nurse Practitioner

    labcoat

    Krista Valdmanis, NP

    Advanced Practice Nurse

    Nurse Practitioner

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