Neurological-Intensive Care Nursery (NICN)

Leaders in Newborn Neurology and Brain-Focused Care

What Is the NICN?
 

The Neuro-Intensive Care Nursery, or NICN, is a highly specialized division of our Intensive Care Nursery. In the NICN, we provide neurological care to newborns and babies at high risk for neurological injury or who have clinical evidence of developmental brain abnormalities. The NICN is a multidisciplinary team of experts using cutting edge resources to provide brain-focused care for newborns.

 

Why Choose UCSF?

 

At the UCSF NICN, our expertise is in providing brain-focused care for infants with neurological needs. Our patients receive 24/7 state-of-the art monitoring and diagnostic interventions to stabilize and treat a wide variety of neonatal brain conditions.

 
What to Expect?

 

You will find expert compassionate family-centered care. Babies come to UCSF for diagnosis and treatment of stroke, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), neonatal seizures, neonatal onset epilepsies, genetic disorders, brain malformations, and extreme prematurity. We offer therapeutic hypothermia for treatment of HIE; seizure evaluation and management; continuous brain monitoring; treatment of AVM, intraventricular hemorrhage, and myelomeningocele.

The NICN at UCSF: A Clear Referral Choice

We treat infants with primary and secondary neurological conditions such as stroke, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, neonatal seizures, genetic disorders and brain malformations, extreme prematurity, and other conditions. We offer:

  1. Brain-Focused Care: UCSF is the birthplace of the Neurological-Intensive Care Nursery (NICN), fully integrating a team of neonatologists, neonatal neurologists, specialized nurses, neuroradiologists and social support services focused on delivering optimal care and improving outcomes for newborns at risk of brain injury.
  2. Rapid Seizure Response: The NICN provides continuous brain monitoring compliant with American Clinical Neurophysiology Society guidelines (2011). This results in rapid seizure detection and reduced time to treat.
  3. Cutting Edge Research: NICN patients may enroll in research designed to test new therapies, and advance our understanding of neonatal brain injury so that we can improve care now, and in the future. We share our research with the international medical community so that hospitals caring for babies with neurological risks can also provide the best evidence-based care.
  4. Long-Term Follow-Up: After being discharged home, NICN patients may qualify for comprehensive examinations performed in the Neonatal Neurology Follow-Up Clinic and High Risk Infant Follow-Up Program to assess neurological development, identify potential needs, and facilitate additional services that might help to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients.