Multiple trauma--stabilization and management in pediatric intensive care unit.

Unlike many medical problems which allow us the luxury of casual contemplation or a diligent search for relevant references for assistance, the care of children suffering major trauma does neither. Our only proper response to these young patients is a rapid assessment and treatment, often performed simultaneously, if we are to preserve life and limb. The anxiety this challenge presents us cannot be minimized: the almost unbelievably thin margin for error in injured youngsters, their small total blood volume, the variation in blood pressure, other vital signs and drug dosages with age, and the family's justifiable hope for a complete recovery all account, in part, for this anxiety. It is, however, precisely for these reasons that our preparation and knowledge is critical if the disability and mortality too often associated with childhood trauma are to be circumvented. Neither the price of failure nor the rewards of success can be measured--they're both too high.