Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has integrated neurocritical care into its neonatal intensive care unit since 2013, positioning itself as one of only eight centers nationwide with dedicated neurocritical NICU expertise. The hospital begins specialized neurological assessment before birth and continues comprehensive care well into childhood and young adulthood through multidisciplinary teams including the only board-certified pediatric neurocritical care neurologists in Southern California, neonatologists, pediatric neuroradiologists, and specialized nurses.
Newborns are more prone to seizures than any other age group, and many neonatal seizures are “quiet” with few overt clinical signs. CHLA monitors high-risk newborns continuously using video encephalogram and amplitude-integrated EEG, with studies reviewed around-the-clock by pediatric neurocritical care specialists. This real-time interpretation allows lifesaving medical decisions. Dr. Eugenia Ho, Medical Director of Neurocritical Care, noted that EEG patterns in immature newborn brains look markedly different from those in children or adults, making continuous neonatal expert review critical to avoid missing quiet seizures.
The hospital offers cooling therapy to newborns with mild encephalopathy as part of the multicenter COOL Prime study enrolling more than 400 infants to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes. Additionally, structured inpatient assessments including the General Movements Assessment and Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination allow early identification of infants at higher risk for cerebral palsy before hospital discharge.
Neurocritical care begins prenatally through CHLA’s Fetal-Maternal Center, which provides advanced prenatal imaging and genetic testing to evaluate structural brain abnormalities, strokes, and bleeds. The Center also offers specialized fetoscopic interventions such as prenatal repair of myelomeningocele to reduce neurologic complications. Long-term follow-up through the Newborn Follow-up Program ensures continued access to neurology, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, and rehabilitation services for years after discharge.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.timesargus.com/news/business/children-s-hospital-los-angeles-leads-region-in-neurocritical-nicu-care-for-newborns/article_2f8db3f4-c610-56ef-b356-483e02786e03.html