The Department of PICU provides specialised critical care for infants and children with life-threatening medical and surgical conditions.
The Department of Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU) provides specialised critical care for infants and children with life-threatening medical and surgical conditions. Established in 1998, the unit has grown into one of India’s leading paediatric intensive care centres, delivering advanced, multidisciplinary care to over 2,200 critically ill children each year.
The department provides 24×7 critical care through a team of paediatric intensivists, nurses, respiratory therapists and allied healthcare professionals, working closely with paediatric medical and surgical specialties to deliver comprehensive, family-centred care.
Critical Care Services: Comprehensive intensive care for severe infections, sepsis, respiratory failure, shock, trauma, neurological emergencies, organ failure and complex medical conditions.
Advanced Organ Support: Invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), renal replacement therapy (SLED/CRRT), plasma exchange and advanced haemodynamic monitoring.
Post-operative Care: Intensive care following major paediatric surgeries including cardiac, liver and kidney transplantation, neurosurgery and other complex surgical procedures.
Multidisciplinary Care: Collaborative management with Paediatric Cardiology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Oncology, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Respiratory Medicine and other paediatric subspecialties.
Outreach & Tele-ICU: Critical care support, simulation-based training, Tele-ICU services and capacity-building programmes for mission hospitals, government hospitals and community healthcare centres across India.
Education
The department offers structured training in Paediatric Critical Care through a Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the Indian Fellowship in Paediatric Critical Care Medicine (IFPCCM) and the DrNB programme in Paediatric Critical Care. The faculty also conducts simulation-based education, Advanced Life Support (AHA BLS, PALS and ACLS), continuing medical education programmes, outreach training and national faculty development initiatives.
Research
The department actively participates in national and international clinical research in paediatric critical care, including sepsis, dengue, acute encephalitis, diabetic ketoacidosis, renal replacement therapy, antimicrobial optimisation, climate-related critical illness and simulation-based education. Ongoing collaborations include ICMR-funded studies and multicentre international research initiatives.
Faculty & Clinical Team
The department comprises paediatric intensivists, fellows, resident doctors, specialised PICU nurses, respiratory therapists and allied healthcare professionals dedicated to providing round-the-clock critical care.
The multidisciplinary team works closely with paediatric surgeons, cardiologists, neurologists, nephrologists, anaesthesiologists and other specialists to deliver coordinated care for critically ill children.
Christian Medical College Vellore,
Ida Scudder Road, Vellore – 632004
Tamil Nadu, India.
Patient-related:
+91 8000338855;
WhatsApp: +91 9385285928
callcentre@cmcvellore.ac.in
CMC Ambulance Service:
+91 9791979797
Mon-Fri: 8 am to 4.30 pm
Sat: 8 am to 12 pm
Office of the Medical Superintendent
E-mail: msoffice@cmcvellore.ac.in
