[kloget]

Would a first grade child ever be allowed in NICU to see her father who is in a coma? Would an exception ever be made for this?

[Emperess]

This would be largely dependent on the hospital, ICU, charge RN, and RN caring for the patient. In general, allowing small children into ICU's is limited for several reasons. They may expose susceptible patients to potentially devastating bugs, such as RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus, very common in children, esp in cold seasons). Also, they may not understand, be very scared of, be unprepared for, even traumatized by the unfamiliar, scary, and VERY different appearance of their loved one. In any case, they should be thoughtfully prepped for what they will see and why. Many exceptions are made, especially in the cases of very critical or dying patients. I hope this helps...

[kc ccurn]

In our ICU we do allow children in to see their parent if they are in a coma. Again, with much preparation. I always make sure that I talk with the child before hand to prepare them for what they will see, the monitor, a tube in his mouth to help him breath. I don't go into detail. Children don't always see the peripheral scary equipment stuff like grown ups do. I encourage them, if patient is stable enough, to hold loved one's hand and tell them they are there and they love them.

But we encourage that the little one's not visit every day, that can become too stressful for them. Instead I encourage them to draw a lot of pictures then we plaster them all over the room for the pt/family and staff to see. This gives the child some control in a situation where they may feel frightened, helpless and anxious. The visit needs to be short, only a few minutes or so. Unfortunately we've also had to remind visitors to NOT let the little one's sit or crawl on the floor, they must wear shoes (GROSS!!!!)

[NeuroICURN]

In the Neuro ICU where I work, we almost NEVER let a child of that age into the unit. First of all, a child of that age is not psychologically capable of handling that. Secondly, (not to be rude about it) children carry all kind of nasty bugs and viruses!

I have only seen it happen one time, and in that case, not only did I get the social worker involved, but also I had a Pediatric Nurse Practioner come down.

In my unit, I try to not only protect my patient, but the family too!

[bestblondRN]

In the places I've worked, we assess the situation, along with Child Life and Social Work to determine whether or not the child is emotionally and developmentally ready to see the parent in the ICU. In my experience, when the child and family and well-prepared, the visits usually go very smoothly, and are generally brief. It's a very individualized process based on family dynamics, maturity of the child, etc......

I don't think there is any right or wrong with regard to children visiting--just make sure they are ready to handle it.