SCCM Pod-478: Challenges of Ill-Fitting Noninvasive Interfaces for Pediatric Patients

SCCM Podcast

Although the variety of noninvasive interfaces for pediatric patients has grown in the past 10 years, they are still limited. Pediatric interfaces are typically scaled down from adult to child sizes, which does not consider the contours of a growing child’s face, causing poor fit in patients of certain ages. Donald S. Prough, MD, FCCM, was joined by Natalie Napolitano, MPH, RRT-NPS, during the 2023 Critical Care Congress to discuss how clinicians’ need to have the right equipment for their patients led to a device development project using 3D imaging that obtained sample sizes from various age groups to bridge the fit gap and lessen pressure point injury among pediatric patients. Natalie Napolitano, MPH, RRT-NPS, is a respiratory therapist and research clinical specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.