Paediatric intensive care

Until relatively recently it was assumed that as long as they were appropriately sedated, children on intensive care units were unaware of what was happening to them. But new evidence is emerging that they, Like adult intensive care patients, can be troubled by disturbing memories of their treatment or of the circumstances that brought them into the unit and by hallucinations, which can affect their longer-term psychological recovery. Also, although the majority of parents cope admirably, it is now well documented that a minority of parents suffer clinically significant levels of distress in relation to these recollections. This article reviews the research in this area and considers the implications for clinical work and future research.