PICU vs. NICU: What’s the Difference

Key Takeaways

NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and is the intensive care unit of a hospital where newborn babies are admitted.
PICU stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and is the unit of the hospital where children, including teens, are admitted.
NICU and PICU are intensive medical care units meant for children who need the highest level of treatment.
Babies with health issues such as heart problems, birth defects, and infections that require continuous care and specialized treatments are typically admitted to the NICU.
Some common conditions that require children to receive care in the PICU include post-operative care, diabetes complications, breathing complications, severe infection, serious accidents, epilepsy, cancer, or organ failure.

Babies who develop complications at the time of birth or later within the first few years of life are often admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Both NICUs and PICUs are intensive medical care units for infants, particularly newborn babies. However, although these units have similar names, they have distinct meanings and offer different levels of treatment.

Let’s dive into these two intensive care units to determine the differences between them.

What is the difference between NICU and PICU?

NICU and PICU are the two acronyms commonly used in children’s hospitals. NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is an area of the hospital which specializes in the treatment of newborn babies.

PICU, or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, is a medical care unit of a hospital where children are admitted when they need the highest level of pediatric care.

The main difference between the NICU and PICU is the age of patients admitted to these units. The NICU is typically reserved for babies younger than 1 month of age, while the PICU is meant for children of all ages.

What is NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)?

NICU is the short form for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The term Neonatal means a newborn baby. Therefore, NICU is the intensive care unit of a hospital where newborn babies are admitted.

Children admitted to the NICU are provided advanced medical treatments and continuous supervision to manage complications and improve their health or chances of survival.

What is a PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)?

PICU is the short form for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The term Pediatric refers to Children. The PICU is the unit of the hospital where children, including teens, are admitted. The unit provides the highest level of critical care to children whose medical needs cannot be met on the main floors of the healthcare facility.

Children who are generally admitted to the PICU include those with severe breathing problems due to asthma, certain heart conditions, serious infections, or complications of diabetes. Sometimes, children are cared for in the PICU for a few days following major surgery.

Kids may also be transferred from the medical-surgical floors to the PICU of the children’s hospital if they develop any complications or become critically ill.

The factor that makes the PICU different from other units of the hospital is that it allows intensive medical care and frequent monitoring of vital parameters of babies, including heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.

Why do Babies Go to PICU or NICU?

NICU and PICU are intensive medical care units meant for children who need the highest level of treatment. Babies go to PICU or NICU when they require advanced medical treatment and care.

These units are designed for close medical supervision of babies using specialized and advanced devices such as ventilators and monitors that are typically not found in other areas of the hospital. The medical staff in the PICU or NICU is specially trained to give young patients, including young babies, medications, and interventions that require close supervision. In addition, both places have a lower staff-to-patient ratio so that the intense needs of patients can be accommodated.

Although NICUs and PICUs have similar equipment, the PICU needs more devices and slightly different equipment as it has to accommodate children of many sizes and a wider age group. However, the level of treatment, care, and monitoring is the highest in both these units, each providing the best available care to the child under all circumstances.

Also, when a baby is born prematurely and requires special care, he or she is admitted to a NICU, not PICU. However, not many hospitals have specialized NICUs. In such cases, the baby might be shifted to another nearby hospital that has a dedicated NICU.

Who receives care in the NICU?

The babies receiving care in the NICU are usually premature or have low birth weight. The NICU offers a combination of advanced technology and a trained medical team of doctors and nurses in order to provide specialized care for infants with these conditions.

Babies with health issues such as heart problems, birth defects, and infections that require continuous care and specialized treatments are also admitted to the NICU.

In addition, sometimes, twins, triplets, and other multiples are also admitted to the NICU, as they are usually born smaller and earlier than single-birth babies.

Some NICUs have continuing or intermediate care areas for babies who do not need critical care but require specialized nursing care.

Who receives care in the PICU?

Patients admitted to PICUs include newborn babies, toddlers, pre-teens, and teenagers. Most patients in the PICU are younger than 18 years of age. However, patients with certain conditions are sometimes admitted to a PICU even if they are older than 18 years.

Children who are critically ill are admitted to PICU so that they can receive advanced care and attention.

Some common conditions that require children to receive care in the PICU include:

Post-operative care
Diabetes complications
Breathing complications
Severe infection
Serious accidents
Epilepsy
Cancer
Organ failure

How long do children stay in the NICU or PICU?

The duration of treatment and care received by a child in NICU or PICU depends on the severity of his or her condition. Some children stay in the NICU or PICU for one or two days, while some need to be admitted for several weeks or months.

What are the different levels of care provided in the NICU?

The American Academy of Pediatrics has categorized hospitals into 4 levels based on the care provided by the facility to newborns. These levels correspond to the services and therapies provided by the medical care units.

The four categories include:

Level 1: Well newborn nursery
Level 2: Special care nursery
Level 3: NICU
Level 4: Regional NICU

Difference Between NICU and PICU: Frequently Asked Questions

At what age does a baby go from NICU to PICU?

The NICU is reserved for infants until 1 month of age, while the PICU is meant for children of all ages. One month may be considered an upper age limit when babies go from NICU to PICU.

Which is better? PICU or NICU?

Both NICU and PICU offer the highest level of critical care to sick children.

Generally, children admitted to a PICU are more critical and require a higher level of treatment. But, not all babies admitted to the NICU have serious illnesses. Some babies are admitted to the NICU just to comply with the 48-hour rule to rule out sepsis.