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Call center 93 253 21 00

Monday to Sunday, from 8 am to 8:30 pm

Scheduling or change of appointment +34 93 253 21 00

Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 7 pm

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Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 7 pm

SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital

Passeig Sant Joan de Déu, 2, 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat

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Intensive Care / Critical Care Area

Intensive Care / Critical Care Area
Bebé en el Área de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos del Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital treats children with serious problems that require complex monitoring and treatment

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital treats children with the most serious illnesses. The ICU consists of a medical and nursing team and assistants with solid training and specialisation in pediatric intensive care. Our technologically advanced facilities allow us to offer the best continuous clinical care to the critical patient in a space designed for the needs of the child and his family.

Our goal is to ensure that the child suffering from a serious illness receives effective care at all times. We work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, striving to maintain a high level of excellence at all times. We believe that the child and their family should feel welcome and informed at all times. Hospitality is a key feature of our hospital.

The Unit cares for patients who have a wide variety of complex conditions, including post-operative Cardiac Surgery requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic surgery and Traumatology, patients with polytrauma or traumatic brain injury, encephalitis or metabolic encephalopathy.

Why SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital?

In 1973, SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital opened one of the first intensive care units in Spain and it has extensive experience in this field. The highly-specialised members of this department belong to the Spanish Society of Pediatric Intensive Care (SECIP) and to the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC). 

Care adapted to all situations

All personnel involved in caring for children in a critical condition are highly specialised in their field.

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Comprehensive care model

We focus on the comprehensive care of the children and their family in situations where emotional overload can be important

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We improve the comfort of the patient and his family

The renovated Pediatric Intensive Care Unit has 24 individual rooms and more than double the space of the old facilities

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Technology applied to equipment and assistance

The medical equipment (pumps, respirators, monitors, etc.) is connected in a network to the computer system, which facilitates a remote and uninterrupted control of the critical patient

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Opinions of families about the Pediatric ICU

New Pediatric Intensive Care Area of the Hospital SJD Barcelona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2U2gzQWpZA

“When the child or his parents are unwell, the whole team supports them so that they can move on. Our son has managed to do so, after six months of hospitalization for severe heart disease.”

Elisabeth mother of Gabriel, a patient admitted to the paediatric ICU of SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital

Pediatric ICU activity

1.200

Children cared per year

50
%

Complex surgeries

25
%

Patients from other hospitals

15
%

Patients referred by pediatrics or specialties

Reasons for admission

Children who require admission to the Intensive Care Unit are those who are in a critical condition. Among the most common cases we treat are the following:

  • Patients who develop a serious illness such as meningitis, meningoencephalitis or myocarditis.
  • Complex cancer patients.
  • Patients with severe trauma.
  • Assistance in the post-operative care of highly complex surgeries such as tumour resection or the correction of congenital anomalies, as could be cardiac malformations. Care of kidney and bone marrow transplant patients.
  • Illnesses which do not usually require intensive care but which get worse and require monitoring and treatment in the unit. Examples of this include pneumonia or viral infections (e.g., the flu or bronchiolitis). Complications can occur in children without any underlying disease, but they occur more often in patients with heart disease, lung disease, cancer, or other types of problems.
  • Children who suffer from chronic diseases and who may be in a serious condition. This is the case of patients with diabetes who suffer acute decompensations.
  • Cases of sepsis, a widespread infection that seriously affects children and can be life-threatening. If this disease is diagnosed, which is frequently seen in the PICU, the early prescribing of an antibiotic treatment and admission to the unit markedly improves patient survival.

Our professionals

Mónica Balaguer Gargallo
Paediatrician
Elisabeth Esteban Torné
Paediatrician
Aida Felipe Villalobos
Paediatrician
Lluisa Hernández Platero
Paediatrician
Susana Segura Matute
Paediatrician

MES team

Sergio Benito Fernández
Paediatrician
Patricia Corniero Alonso
Paediatrician
Nuria Millán García del Real
Paediatrician

Investigación

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is participating in several studies and research projects out at the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD). The goal is to achieve the highest level of quality in the care of our patients. The main areas we research are the following:

  • Analysis of inflammatory markers.
  • Infectious diseases and sepsis.
  • Non-invasive ventilation for critical respiratory patients.
  • Treatment of neurocritical patients suffering from encephalitis, metabolic encephalopathies, neuromuscular disease, traumatic brain injury, etc.
  • Post-operative care of congenital heart disease.
  • Analysis of the comfort needs of our patients and their families through surveys and evaluation of the patient experience. Joint investigation of the medical and nursing staff.

Teaching

SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a university hospital affiliated with the University of Barcelona. We share our knowledge and train professionals so that they can specialise in high complexity medicine. Teaching is a fundamental component of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which currently has national and international recognition. Being integrated in a university hospital facilitates the links between medical practice and teaching. We offer:

  • Courses on respiratory problems that are organised within the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC). High level simulations are performed in which expert teams face highly complex critical situations.
  • Specialty training in Pediatric Intensive Care. The programme lasts for two years and is accredited by the Spanish Society of Pediatric Intensive Care (SECIP). Pediatric specialists who have completed their training and have at least one year of seniority may qualify for this training. Enrolment is open.
  • Postgraduate training students of the University of Barcelona's School of Medicine participate in internships in our unit: they also receive resident training in the specialty of pediatrics.
  • Internal training. All personnel of the unit participate in the simulation of clinical cases that reproduce complex situations. Resident physicians are also trained in the management of common techniques and procedures.
  • External training. Theoretical-practical courses organised from the PICU on invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, advanced life support to pediatric trauma, ECMO, extrarenal clearance or ultrasound in critical paediatric patients.