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Critical Care for Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Issues Barriers and Opportunities

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Optimizing Treatment for Children in the Developing World

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Abstract

In richer countries, care for the critically ill has increased exponentially in complexity over recent decades. In those countries, intensive care is a vital component of an integrated health system with robust infrastructure and extensive emergency transport that make care accessible for children. In addition, the numbers of children who suffer life-threatening illness in HICs is relatively small and many intensive care resources serve children undergoing major elective surgery or suffering significant trauma. It is, however, a reality that the majority of children, and in particular those most critically ill, live in LMICs. A concerted effort is now required to improve critical care infrastructure for resource-poor areas. One opportunity is partnering between like-minded institutions with resources and a commitment to form mutually beneficial relationships to improve delivery of child health care. Although critically ill children in LMICs face great obstacles in accessing intensive care with innovative approaches, setting-appropriate care can be afforded.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Andrew C. Argent MD (Paediatrics), FCPaedsSA

  2. Division of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Red Cross War Memorial Children Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

    Andrew C. Argent MD (Paediatrics), FCPaedsSA

  3. Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Niranjan Kissoon MD, FRCPC

Authors
  1. Andrew C. Argent MD (Paediatrics), FCPaedsSA
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  2. Niranjan Kissoon MD, FRCPC
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew C. Argent MD (Paediatrics), FCPaedsSA .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Stuart MacLeod

  2. University of Melbourne Medical School, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Suzanne Hill

  3. Departments of Pediatrics and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Gideon Koren

  4. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska University, Hostpital Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Anders Rane

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Argent, A.C., Kissoon, N. (2015). Critical Care for Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Issues Barriers and Opportunities. In: MacLeod, S., Hill, S., Koren, G., Rane, A. (eds) Optimizing Treatment for Children in the Developing World. Adis, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15750-4_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15750-4_23

  • Publisher Name: Adis, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15749-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15750-4

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