Anaemia

• Insufficient red blood cells in the blood. 

Antibiotics

• Medications that destroy or incapacitate bacteria. They are used to treat certain infections.
• Antibiotics are not effective against viruses. 

Apnoea

• A pause in breathing that is longer than normal. It is commonly seen in premature or ill newborn babies.

Arterial line

• A thin catheter or tube placed in an artery to take blood samples or check blood pressure. 

Aspiration

• Inhaling liquid or other material into the windpipe or lungs. 

Bagging

• A procedure to assist the baby to breathe by inflating the lungs with a bag. A mask is placed over the mouth and nose or a tube in the windpipe is used.

Bilirubin

• A substance that stains the skin yellow (jaundice) when present in significant amounts.
• Bilirubin is formed while recycling red blood cells and is processed by the liver. The liver is immature in the normal newborn and may be slow to remove bilirubin.
• This is exaggerated in sick or premature babies and high bilirubin levels may require treatment. 

Blood gas

• A blood gas test is performed using a small amount of blood to measure the acidity and levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.

Bradycardia

• A temporary slowing in the baby's heart rate, common in premature or ill newborn babies. 

Bridge

• A box containing the ventilator, monitors and pumps needed for intensive care of an infant or older child.
• The box is mounted over the legs of the child, forming a bridge over the stretcher. 

Cardiac Ultrasound or 'Echo'

• A test using sound waves to create a picture of the chambers of the heart, heart valves and related blood vessels. Patterns of blood flow can also be shown. 

Catheter Central Line

• A special tube, usually placed in a blood vessel to give liquids or drugs or to take blood specimens.
• A long intravenous line that is threaded into the large blood vessels within the body, often inserted through the groin or neck.
• It is used to give fluids and drugs and to monitor vital signs such as central venous pressure. 

Cervical Collar

• A stiff collar placed around the neck of a child who has a suspected neck injury.  

Chest tube/chest drain

• Tubes inserted through the skin between the ribs to release air or liquid trapped within the chest, to allow the lungs to expand. 

Chronological age

• Age measured by length of time from birth 

Conference

• Group telephone discussion held by the doctors and nurses to discuss the treatment of your child. Generally held prior to transport. 

Corrected age

• The age the baby would be, if born at term.
• For example one year corrected age is one year after the baby was due to be born, rather than one year after her or his actual birthday. 

CPAP 

• Continuous Positive Airways Pressure.
• A form of respiratory support where the lungs are kept slightly inflated to assist the child's natural breathing.
• The CPAP machine supplies oxygen under pressure to the baby through plastic prongs inserted a short distance into one or both nostrils.  
• For older children a mask may be used. If the child is sicker, intubation and ventilation may be required. 

Cranial ultrasound

• A test using sound waves to create a picture of the brain and other structures.  

Cyanosis

• The bluish tinge of the skin and lips caused by a low level of oxygen.  

CT scan

• A special form of x-ray which requires the child to be so still that an anaesthetic may be required. It cannot be done in the ICU. 

Echo

• See 'Cardiac ultrasound'

Electrode  

• An adhesive pad placed on the baby's skin, which is used to monitor heart rate and/or breathing. 

Endotracheal tube  

• A plastic tube passed through the nose or mouth into the trachea 1windpipe) to assist the baby in breathing. It is usually attached to a ventilator.
• It can also be called an ET tube.
• The process of inserting an ET tube is called Intubation 

Extubation

• The process of removing the endotracheal tube. 

Gastric tube

• A plastic tube placed into the stomach through the mouth or nose.
• Often used to feed the baby when sucking is inadequate or unsuitable. 

GCS Glasgow Coma Scale

• A score used in an unconscious or semiconscious child to assess severity of loss of consciousness and guide treatment. 

Gestational age

• The length of time (in weeks) from conception to birth. 

Haemoglobin

• The substance in the red blood cells which carries oxygen around the body. 

Headbox

• A plastic box placed over the baby's head and shoulders to provide an exact level of oxygen and moisture. 

Humidifier

• A device through which oxygen and air for the headbox or ventilator are fed to warm and moisten them to body temperature. 

Hyaline Membrane Disease

• A respiratory problem resulting from immaturity of a baby's lungs and lack of surfactant. It is more common in premature babies. 
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) can limit oxygen uptake leading to hypoxia (see below). 

Hypoxia

• A low level of oxygen in the blood stream.  

Indwelling catheter

• A plastic catheter placed in the bladder to assist in draining urine. Often used in intensive care of children. 

Incubator  

• A bed enclosed with plastic. It is heated to maintain the baby's body temperature while the baby remains visible and accessible.  

Intravenous  

• A method of giving fluids through a tiny catheter placed in an infusion vein. See also Central Line.  

Intubation

• Insertion of an endotracheal tube through the nose or mouth into the trachea (windpipe) to resuscitate a
• very unwell baby or to assist with breathing.  

Intra osseous (IO) line

• A large needle inserted into the bone of the leg to give drugs and fluids required urgently.
• Used when other methods of giving treatment are not working or are unsuccessful.  

Jaundice

• Yellow discolouration of the skin caused by excessive bilirubin in the blood.

Meconium

• The first bowel action of the newborn baby, usually dark green or black and sticky.  

Medical Retrieval

• The process of moving a sick patient using a medical team which has travelled from a specialist centre to treat, stabilise and escort the patient. 

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

• A scan image of the head or other body part taken using a magnetic scanning technique, rather than radiation.
• The test cannot be done in the ICU.  

Monitor

• A machine which displays information about the baby's body functions (eg heart rate, blood pressure, temperature) and warns of possibly abnormal variations.  

Monitored

• The process of attaching or maintaining monitoring equipment.  

Muscle relaxant

• A form of anaesthetic in which the muscles of the body are 'paralysed' for a short time by a drug.
• Used in the critically ill child as part of intensive care.  

Paralysed  

• The effect of a muscle relaxing drug. Also used to indicate nerve damage from an injury or illness.
• Ask your child's doctor if you are unsure about the sense in which this word is being used in the intensive care setting.  

Sedation

• Effect of drugs used to make your child more comfortable or less aware. 

Spinal board

• A frame or board to keep a child's back and spine safe when fracture is suspected. 

Stabilisation

• The process of preparing a child for medical transport.
• This includes all those intensive care treatments that can be commenced prior to travel.
• This is better than delaying important treatments until after transportation.
• Stabilisation also involves making the child's condition 'safe' for transportation. 

Surfactant

• A substance produced by the lungs which is essential for expansion of the lungs during breathing.
• In a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, surfactant can be given to babies whose lungs are not manufacturing natural surfactant.
• This occurs when the lungs are not yet mature enough (eg in a premature infant) or are malfunctioning for another reason.

Transcutaneous (TC)

• Literally, through the skin. A monitor fixed to the skin to assess the level of oxygen or carbon dioxide in the body.
• The level can be measured this way because a baby's skin is thin enough for oxygen and carbon dioxide to filter through the skin. 

Umbilical Arterial Catheter (UAC)

• A tube fed through one of the arteries of the umbilicus of a baby. It is used to take blood samples and or measure blood pressure. 

Umbilical Venous Catheter (UVC)

• A tube fed through the vein in the umbilicus of a baby. It is used to give drugs and fluids.  

Ventilator

• A machine which assists with or replaces the baby's own breathing by inflating the lungs under pressure.
• The baby may be able to breathe between the machine breaths.
• The machine is connected to the baby by a tube passed through the nose or mouth into the windpipe. (see Endotracheal Tube)