Infectious diseases and the origins of pediatric critical care medicine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48047/Abstract
While several accounts of the early days of pediatric critical care medicine as a subspecialty are published, in this work we explore how early pediatric critical care units formed through the lens of poliomyelitis, tetanus, sepsis and rheumatic fever. We describe how each outbreak or illness through the 19th and 20th centuries drove innovations in airway and ventilation management in small patients, in addition to stimulating novel approaches to patient grouping, ultimately leading to the creation of the modern field of pediatric critical care medicine.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Sarah E. Gardner Yelton, Dr. Daniel L. Levin (Author)
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