The care of the critically ill or injured child begins with timely, prompt, and aggressive res- citation and stabilization. Ideally, stabilization should occur before the onset of organ failure in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. In the following pages, an international panel of experts provides an in-depth discussion of the early recognition, resuscitation, and stabilization of the critically ill or injured child. Once again, we would like to dedicate this textbook to our families and to the physicians and nurses who provide steadfast care every day in pediatric intensive care units across the globe. Derek S. Wheeler Hector R. Wong Thomas P. Shanley V Preface to Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence The ? eld of critical care medicine is growing at a tremendous pace, and tremendous advances in the understanding of critical illness have been realized in the last decade. My family has directly bene? ted from some of the technological and scienti? c advances made in the care of critically ill children. My son Ryan was born during my third year of medical school. By some peculiar happenstance, I was nearing completion of a 4-week rotation in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). The head of the pediatrics clerkship was kind enough to let me have a few days off around the time of the deliverymy wife, Cathy, was 2 weeks past her due date and had been scheduled for elective induction.

Emergency Medical Services for Children.- Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.- Supplemental Oxygen and Bag-Valve-Mask Ventilation.- Assessment and Management of the Pediatric Airway.- Vascular Access.- Shock: An Overview.- Acute Respiratory Failure.- Pediatric Transport Medicine.- Withdrawal of Life Support.- Brain Death.- The Pathophysiology of Brain Death and Care of the Potential Organ Donor.