This page lists thesis and dissertation topics in paediatric intensive care, grouped by the problems that actually fill a PICU census — septic shock and haemodynamic instability, respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation, altered sensorium and status epilepticus, acute kidney injury and electrolyte disturbance, device-associated infection and antimicrobial resistance, feeding and metabolic emergencies, coagulopathy and multiorgan dysfunction, poisoning, envenomation and trauma, and severity scoring, point-of-care ultrasound and unit safety. The paediatric intensive care thesis topics collected here are written for MD and DNB Paediatrics candidates, and for fellows in paediatric critical care medicine, who have one thesis period, one unit and only the children already admitted to it. Every design runs on what routine care generates anyway: the nursing observation chart, ventilator settings, blood gases, culture and biochemistry reports, the intake-output record and bedside ultrasound clips, so no funded assay and no new equipment is assumed. The paediatric critical care research topics in the later sections are framed narrowly enough to survive institutional review, which matters because a title becomes work only once it has been turned into a paediatric intensive care protocol and a paediatric intensive care synopsis with a defined population, a fixed measurement window, a named age reference and a single primary outcome.
Last reviewed and updated: August 2026
📌 Updated for 2026–2027 MD and DNB Paediatrics admissions
Each title was rechecked against what a general teaching-hospital PICU can measure without new purchase, and against the organ-dysfunction based sepsis definitions now replacing the older criteria.
- What the topics need: a multiparameter monitor, a conventional ventilator, a blood gas analyser, routine biochemistry and blood culture, an ultrasound machine with a cardiac and a linear probe, and a legible case record. Anything requiring an age-specific normal range assumes the unit has agreed on which reference chart it uses.
- What is not required: transpulmonary thermodilution or any continuous cardiac output monitor, oesophageal manometry, cytokine or metagenomic panels, purchased biomarker kits, echocardiography beyond focused assessment, or a research nurse available for round-the-clock enrolment.
- Where publication potential sits: reclassification of an existing cohort under new sepsis criteria, calibration of imported severity scores in an Indian case-mix, device-associated infection reported against device-day denominators, and stewardship or fluid-balance audits with a before-and-after structure. These are accepted by indexed paediatric journals because the reference data are almost entirely Western.
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- Introduction / Synopsis
- Research Question
- Aim of the Study
- Primary Objective
- Secondary Objectives
- Materials and Methods
- Inclusion Criteria
- Exclusion Criteria
- Sample Size Calculation
- Methodology
- Statistical Analysis
- Ethical Considerations
- Review of Literature
- References
- Gantt Chart / Study Timeline
- Patient Information Sheet
- Consent Form
- Data Collection Form
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Sepsis, Septic Shock and Haemodynamic Instability
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Sepsis among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Aetiological Spectrum of Paediatric Sepsis in a Tertiary Care Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Characteristics of Sepsis and Septic Shock among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Age with Clinical Severity of Sepsis among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Nutritional Status with Severity of Sepsis among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Sepsis Severity among Malnourished and Normally Nourished Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Haematological Profile of Children with Sepsis Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Total Leucocyte Count with Severity of Paediatric Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Absolute Neutrophil Count with Septic Shock among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence and Severity of Thrombocytopenia among Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Platelet Count with Clinical Severity of Paediatric Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Mean Platelet Volume with Sepsis Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Diagnostic Utility of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Children with Sepsis Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio with Septic Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Serum C-Reactive Protein Profile among Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of C-Reactive Protein Levels with Clinical Severity of Paediatric Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Serum Procalcitonin Profile among Children with Suspected Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin in Paediatric Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Serum Lactate with Severity of Septic Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Serum Lactate Levels in Children with Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Acid-Base Abnormalities among Children with Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Metabolic Acidosis with Haemodynamic Instability among Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Electrolyte Abnormalities among Children with Sepsis Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Sodium and Potassium Abnormalities in Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Fluid-Refractory Septic Shock among Children Presenting to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Capillary Refill Time with Haemodynamic Severity among Children with Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Shock Index with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Perfusion Markers and Serum Lactate among Children with Shock: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Organ Dysfunction Profile among Children with Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical, Haemodynamic and Laboratory Spectrum of Paediatric Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Acute Respiratory Failure and Mechanical Ventilation
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Acute Respiratory Failure among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Hypoxaemic and Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Age with Aetiological Pattern of Acute Respiratory Failure among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Children Requiring Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Indications for Invasive Mechanical Ventilation among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Ventilated Children with Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Diagnoses: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Nutritional Status with Severity of Respiratory Failure among Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Arterial Blood Gas Profile among Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Arterial Blood Gas Abnormalities with Clinical Severity of Respiratory Failure: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Arterial and Venous Blood Gas Parameters among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Oxygen Saturation with Arterial Oxygenation among Children with Respiratory Failure: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Paediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Severity Categories of Paediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Oxygenation Index with Clinical Severity of Paediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Paediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Radiological Profile of Children with Severe Pneumonia Requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Chest Radiographic Findings with Respiratory Support Requirement among Children with Pneumonia: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Children Receiving Non-Invasive Ventilation in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Children Receiving Non-Invasive and Invasive Ventilation: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Indications and Clinical Characteristics of Children Receiving High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Therapy: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of High-Flow Nasal Oxygen and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Children with Status Asthmaticus Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Blood Gas Abnormalities with Severity of Status Asthmaticus among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Bronchiolitis Requiring Paediatric Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Respiratory Support Requirements in Bronchiolitis and Pneumonia among Infants: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Pneumothorax among Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Ventilator Parameters with Pneumothorax among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Lung Ultrasound Profile among Children with Acute Respiratory Failure: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Lung Ultrasound and Chest Radiography among Children with Respiratory Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical, Radiological and Ventilatory Profile of Acute Respiratory Failure in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Neurocritical Care, Seizures and Altered Sensorium
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Altered Sensorium among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Infectious and Non-Infectious Causes of Altered Sensorium among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Glasgow Coma Scale Score with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Status Epilepticus among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Convulsive and Non-Convulsive Status Epilepticus among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Age with Aetiology of Status Epilepticus among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Electroencephalographic Profile of Children with Status Epilepticus: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Electroencephalographic Abnormalities with Neurological Severity in Paediatric Status Epilepticus: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Neuroimaging Profile of Children with Acute Encephalitis Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Infectious and Autoimmune Encephalitis among Children Requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities with Neurological Severity among Children with Encephalitis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Profile among Children with Acute Central Nervous System Infections: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Cerebrospinal Fluid Findings in Bacterial, Viral and Tuberculous Meningitis among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Raised Intracranial Pressure among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Clinical Signs of Raised Intracranial Pressure with Neuroimaging Findings among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Neuroimaging Profile of Paediatric Stroke Requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Ischaemic and Haemorrhagic Stroke among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Acute Flaccid Paralysis requiring Intensive Care among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Aetiological Spectrum of Acute Flaccid Paralysis among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Electrophysiological Profile of Guillain-Barré Syndrome among Children Requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Nerve Conduction Findings with Respiratory Muscle Weakness among Children with Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Neurotoxic Envenomation among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Neurological Manifestations of Snake Envenomation and Organophosphate Poisoning among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Electrolyte Abnormalities among Children with Acute Neurological Illness in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Hyponatraemia with Neurological Severity among Children with Central Nervous System Disease: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Blood Glucose Abnormalities among Children with Acute Neurological Illness: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Hypoglycaemia with Level of Consciousness among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Children with Hypoxic-Ischaemic Brain Injury admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Neurological Severity among Children with Infectious, Metabolic and Hypoxic Encephalopathy: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical, Neurophysiological and Neuroimaging Spectrum of Paediatric Neurocritical Illness: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Cardiovascular Emergencies, Shock and Haemodynamic Monitoring
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Shock among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Hypovolemic, Distributive and Cardiogenic Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Shock Type with Clinical Perfusion Parameters among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Cardiogenic Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Echocardiographic Profile of Children with Cardiogenic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction with Clinical Severity among Children with Cardiogenic Shock: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Echocardiographic Profile of Myocarditis among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Cardiac Biomarkers with Ventricular Dysfunction among Children with Myocarditis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Troponin and Echocardiographic Parameters among Children with Suspected Myocarditis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Heart Failure Severity with Renal Function among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Arrhythmias among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Electrolyte Abnormalities with Arrhythmias among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Supraventricular and Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Blood Pressure Profile among Critically Ill Children in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence and Pattern of Hypotension among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Hypotension with Serum Lactate among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Non-Invasive and Invasive Blood Pressure Measurements among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Pulse Pressure with Haemodynamic Instability among Children with Shock: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Shock Index with Echocardiographic Cardiac Function among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Point-of-Care Echocardiographic Profile of Children with Undifferentiated Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical and Echocardiographic Classification of Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Inferior Vena Cava Ultrasonographic Parameters among Children with Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Inferior Vena Cava Collapsibility with Clinical Perfusion Markers among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Capillary Refill Time and Point-of-Care Ultrasound Parameters among Children with Shock: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Pulmonary Hypertension among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Echocardiographic Right Ventricular Function among Children with Severe Respiratory Illness: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Pulmonary Artery Pressure with Oxygenation among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Echocardiographic Spectrum of Haemodynamic Disorders in Paediatric Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Acute Kidney Injury, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Disorders
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Acute Kidney Injury among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence and Severity of Acute Kidney Injury among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Children with and without Acute Kidney Injury in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Sepsis with Severity of Acute Kidney Injury among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Shock with Acute Kidney Injury among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Mechanical Ventilation with Acute Kidney Injury among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Acute Kidney Injury in Septic and Non-Septic Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Serum Creatinine Profile among Critically Ill Children with Acute Kidney Injury: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Oliguria with Acute Kidney Injury Severity among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Oliguric and Non-Oliguric Acute Kidney Injury among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Electrolyte Abnormalities among Children with Acute Kidney Injury: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Hyperkalaemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Serum Potassium Levels with Electrocardiographic Changes among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence and Aetiological Profile of Hyponatraemia among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Hyponatraemia Severity with Neurological Manifestations among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Hyponatraemia and Hypernatraemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Hypernatraemia among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence and Pattern of Hypocalcaemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Serum Calcium Levels with Seizures among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Magnesium Abnormalities among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Serum Magnesium with Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Phosphate Abnormalities among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Hypophosphatemia with Respiratory Muscle Weakness among Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Acid-Base Disorders among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Metabolic and Respiratory Acid-Base Disorders among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Base Deficit with Severity of Critical Illness among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Anion Gap and Base Deficit among Children with Metabolic Acidosis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Children Requiring Renal Replacement Therapy at Presentation to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Renal Function Parameters among Children with Sepsis, Shock and Multiorgan Dysfunction: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical, Renal, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Profile of Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antibiotic Stewardship
- Microbiological Profile of Infections among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Infections among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Bacterial Isolates from a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms among Culture-Positive Paediatric Intensive Care Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Characteristics of Children with Drug-Sensitive and Multidrug-Resistant Infections: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Risk Factor Profile of Multidrug-Resistant Infection among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Bloodstream Infection Profile among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Microbiological Profile of Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection among Children Presenting with Suspected Device-Related Infection: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Central Venous Catheter Characteristics with Bloodstream Infection among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Microbiological Profile of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Children with and without Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Endotracheal Culture Findings with Clinical Features of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Microbiological Profile of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Device-Associated Infections in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Fungal Infection Profile among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Bacterial and Fungal Bloodstream Infections among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Invasive Candidiasis among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Exposure with Fungal Infection among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Dengue among Children Requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Thrombocytopenia with Disease Severity among Children with Severe Dengue: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Scrub Typhus among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Severe Dengue and Scrub Typhus among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Severe Malaria among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Tropical Infections requiring Paediatric Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Antibiotic Utilisation Pattern in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Use among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Appropriateness of Empirical Antibiotic Therapy among Children admitted with Suspected Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Concordance between Empirical Antibiotic Therapy and Culture Susceptibility among Children with Culture-Positive Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Microbiological, Resistance and Antimicrobial Utilisation Profile of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit Infections: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Nutrition, Metabolic Disorders and Endocrine Emergencies
- Nutritional Status of Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Acute and Chronic Malnutrition among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Severity among Malnourished and Normally Nourished Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference with Severity of Critical Illness among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference and Body Mass Index for Nutritional Assessment among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Serum Albumin Profile among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Serum Albumin Levels with Clinical Severity among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence and Pattern of Hypoalbuminemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Blood Glucose Abnormalities among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Stress Hyperglycaemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Stress Hyperglycaemia with Severity of Critical Illness among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Hypoglycaemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Hypoglycaemia with Malnutrition among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Biochemical Profile of Diabetic Ketoacidosis among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Mild, Moderate and Severe Diabetic Ketoacidosis among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Serum Sodium with Severity of Paediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence of Acute Kidney Injury among Children with Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Electrolyte Abnormalities among Children with Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical Profile of Adrenal Crisis among Children Presenting to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Endocrine and Non-Endocrine Causes of Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Feeding Practices among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Enteral Nutrition Use among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Nutritional Parameters among Children receiving Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Feeding Intolerance among Critically Ill Children receiving Enteral Nutrition: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Abdominal Distension with Feeding Intolerance among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Micronutrient Status among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency among Children admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Vitamin D Levels with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Vitamin D Status among Septic and Non-Septic Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical, Nutritional, Metabolic and Endocrine Profile of Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Haematology, Coagulation, Transfusion and Multiorgan Dysfunction
- Haematological Profile of Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence and Severity of Anaemia among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Haemoglobin Levels with Severity of Critical Illness among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Haematological Parameters among Septic and Non-Septic Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Prevalence and Aetiological Profile of Thrombocytopenia among Children admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Thrombocytopenia with Multiorgan Dysfunction among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Platelet Indices among Critically Ill Children with Thrombocytopenia: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Platelet Indices among Children with Sepsis and Dengue: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Coagulation Profile among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Prevalence of Coagulopathy among Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time with Severity of Paediatric Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Platelet Count with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation among Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Blood Component Utilisation Pattern in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Pattern and Indications for Packed Red Blood Cell Transfusion among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Transfusion Practices among Septic and Non-Septic Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Pattern and Indications for Platelet Transfusion among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Appropriateness of Fresh Frozen Plasma Use among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Prevalence and Pattern of Acute Transfusion Reactions among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Organ Systems Involved in Paediatric Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Number of Dysfunctional Organs with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Multiorgan Dysfunction in Sepsis and Non-Septic Critical Illness: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Liver Function Abnormalities among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Liver Dysfunction with Sepsis Severity among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Renal and Hepatic Dysfunction among Children with Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Hyperbilirubinaemia with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Haematological and Coagulation Abnormalities among Children with Single- and Multiple-Organ Dysfunction: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Critically Ill Children with Pancytopenia: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Haematological, Coagulation and Multiorgan Dysfunction Profile of Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Poisoning, Envenomation, Trauma and Paediatric Emergencies
- Clinical and Aetiological Profile of Acute Poisoning among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Common Poisoning Agents among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Accidental and Intentional Poisoning among Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Age with Type of Poisoning among Paediatric Intensive Care Admissions: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Organophosphate Poisoning among Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Cholinergic Manifestations with Severity of Organophosphate Poisoning among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Organophosphate and Hydrocarbon Poisoning among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Hydrocarbon Poisoning among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical and Radiological Profile of Aspiration Pneumonitis following Hydrocarbon Ingestion among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical Profile of Corrosive Ingestion among Children presenting to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Paracetamol Poisoning among Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical Profile of Rodenticide Poisoning among Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Pharmaceutical and Non-Pharmaceutical Poisoning among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Snake Envenomation among Children requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Neurotoxic and Hemotoxic Snake Envenomation among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Coagulation Abnormalities among Children with Hemotoxic Snake Envenomation: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Bite-to-Hospital Time with Clinical Severity among Children with Snake Envenomation: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile of Scorpion Envenomation among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Cardiovascular Manifestations with Severity of Scorpion Envenomation among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Snake and Scorpion Envenomation among Children admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile of Drowning and Near-Drowning among Children admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Initial Glasgow Coma Scale Score with Clinical Severity among Children following Drowning: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical and Radiological Profile of Aspiration-Related Lung Injury following Drowning among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Clinical Profile of Paediatric Trauma requiring Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Distribution of Mechanisms of Injury among Children admitted after Trauma: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Blunt and Penetrating Trauma among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical and Neuroimaging Profile of Traumatic Brain Injury among Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Glasgow Coma Scale Score with Neuroimaging Findings among Children with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Isolated Head Injury and Multisystem Trauma among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Spectrum of Poisoning, Envenomation and Trauma among Paediatric Intensive Care Admissions: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Severity Scores, Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Procedures, Safety and Family-Centered Care
- Association of Paediatric Risk of Mortality Score with Organ Dysfunction among Children Admitted to Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Association of Paediatric Index of Mortality Score with Clinical Severity among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Paediatric Risk of Mortality and Paediatric Index of Mortality Scores among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Paediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction Score with Number of Organ Systems Involved among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Different Paediatric Severity Scores in Children with Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Glasgow Coma Scale with Paediatric Severity Scores among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Point-of-Care Ultrasound Findings among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Diagnostic Yield of Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound among Children with Acute Respiratory Distress: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Point-of-Care Cardiac Ultrasound Profile among Children with Shock: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Examination and Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Classification of Shock among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Inferior Vena Cava Ultrasonography among Critically Ill Children and Its Association with Clinical Hydration Status: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter among Children with Suspected Raised Intracranial Pressure: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Association of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter with Neuroimaging Evidence of Raised Intracranial Pressure among Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Clinical Profile and Indications for Central Venous Catheterisation among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Pattern of Mechanical and Infectious Complications of Central Venous Catheters among Children Presenting with Catheter-Related Problems: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Internal Jugular and Femoral Central Venous Access among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical Profile and Indications for Arterial Cannulation among Children in Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Pattern of Airway-Related Complications among Intubated Children at the Time of Assessment: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Comparative Evaluation of Unplanned and Planned Endotracheal Tube Changes among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Prevalence and Pattern of Pressure Injuries among Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Immobility and Device Use with Pressure Injury among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Prevalence of Medication Errors in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Pattern of High-Risk Medication Use among Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
- Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Practices among Healthcare Workers in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Knowledge and Practices Regarding Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Prevention among Paediatric Intensive Care Unit Staff: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Parental Stress among Caregivers of Children Admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Association of Child Illness Severity with Parental Stress among Families of Critically Ill Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
- Caregiver Satisfaction with Communication and Family-Centered Care in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Burnout and Occupational Stress among Healthcare Professionals Working in Paediatric Intensive Care: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Clinical, Procedural, Safety and Family-Centered Care Profile of a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Alongside paediatric intensive care protocols and synopses, support is also available for departmental presentations, journal club presentations, ethics committee presentations, and posters and oral presentations for medical conferences — for postgraduate residents, board trainees and research scholars across India and the GCC. Prepared by a practising doctor with long experience in medical publishing and thesis supervision.
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Paediatric intensive care research outside India
The topics above work as research questions anywhere — what changes is the document the institution expects, and who approves it before data collection begins. The Gulf equivalent of an Indian synopsis is the paediatric intensive care research proposal submitted to an institutional review board, and it ordinarily carries three sections an Indian synopsis does not: a Gantt chart, a budget and resources section, and a Declaration of Helsinki statement.
Board and residency programmes — country by country
Saudi Arabia — SCFHS and the Saudi Board. Residency and fellowship training under the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties includes a research project with a set timeline, and the paediatric intensive care research proposal is the document prepared at the outset and cleared by the institutional review board before recruitment starts.
United Arab Emirates — DHA, DOH Abu Dhabi and MOHAP. Residents training in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates prepare a paediatric intensive care research protocol for their programme and submit it for institutional review board approval before any data are collected.
Qatar — QCHP and Hamad Medical Corporation. A paediatric intensive care IRB proposal is reviewed before recruitment, with the ethics section written to the institution's own template rather than a generic one.
Bahrain — NHRA. Trainees turning paediatric intensive care research topics into a project need the proposal cleared by their institutional research and ethics committee before fieldwork begins.
Oman — OMSB. Residency programmes under the Oman Medical Specialty Board include a research component, and the paediatric intensive care research proposal is the document assessed at the start of it.
Kuwait — KIMS. A paediatric intensive care study protocol goes to the institutional committee for approval before the project begins.
Arab Board programmes across the region. The Arab Board carries its own research requirement irrespective of the host country, and the paediatric intensive care proposal follows the same structure throughout.
Postgraduate degrees — Malaysia, the Gulf and beyond
Malaysia — MMed, the National Medical Research Register and MREC. A paediatric intensive care dissertation proposal for a Master of Medicine programme carried out in a Ministry of Health facility must be registered on the NMRR and approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee before the study begins, and the guidance asks for submission four to six months ahead of data collection. Every investigator on the study team registers on the NMRR as well, so the methodology, ethics and team sections are written in far more detail than an Indian synopsis requires.
PhD and Master's candidates elsewhere. University programmes generally require a full paediatric intensive care research proposal of roughly 6,000 to 10,000 words, with an extended literature review, a theoretical framework and a detailed methodology chapter.
These are written individually, by a medical doctor, with no artificial intelligence generation and no plagiarism, and revised until the supervisor accepts them.
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🔥 Trending research areas in paediatric intensive care for 2026–27
- Reclassifying sepsis by organ dysfunction rather than inflammatory criteria — the Phoenix criteria published in 2024 shifted the definition away from SIRS towards a measured organ-dysfunction score. An existing PICU cohort can be scored both ways from records alone, and the children who move in or out of the sepsis label are themselves the finding. This needs no new data collection and no consumables.
- Fluid stewardship and de-resuscitation — cumulative fluid balance expressed as percent fluid overload is now treated as a modifiable exposure rather than a bookkeeping figure. Intake-output charts already hold the numerator, so the study becomes feasible the moment the protocol fixes how admission weight is obtained.
- Diaphragm and lung ultrasound for extubation readiness — diaphragm thickening fraction and a scored lung ultrasound examination are being tested against spontaneous breathing trials as predictors of extubation failure. Both are bedside measurements on equipment most units already own, and extubation failure is a common enough event to power a study.
- Function at discharge instead of survival — the Functional Status Scale and the wider paediatric post-intensive care syndrome literature give an outcome that varies in a unit where death does not. Scoring is done from the case record and a short structured assessment, which suits a candidate who cannot follow children into the community.
Protocol and synopsis guidance
What a paediatric intensive care protocol must contain
An age reference, named. Heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure have no fixed abnormal value in a paediatric population, so a protocol that says tachycardia, tachypnoea or hypotension without naming the age bands and the source chart has not defined its exposure. State the reference used and reproduce the cut-offs as an annexure. The same applies to age-adjusted shock index if it is used. Hypotension deserves a separate sentence: it is a late sign in children, so a study that defines shock by blood pressure will enrol only decompensated children and will systematically miss compensated shock, which changes what the prevalence figure means.
The weight, and where it came from. Fluid balance, drug dosing, tidal volume and nutritional delivery are all expressed per kilogram, so admission weight is the hidden denominator of most PICU work. In an unconscious or unstable child it is frequently estimated by a length-based tape or an age formula rather than measured. Record which method was used for each child and treat estimated weight as a source of error, not as a measurement. Daily weights on an occupied PICU bed are unreliable and should not be assumed available.
A time anchor, and what happened before it. Physiological variables move under treatment, so each must be tied to a stated window: the value at admission, the worst value in the first hour, the first value after resuscitation. In paediatric practice this carries an extra problem, because many children arrive already stabilised at a referring hospital or in casualty. The worst physiology has then been treated away before the PICU clock starts, and referred children score falsely well. State where the child was before admission and treat referral status as a covariate rather than a nuisance.
The unit of analysis. One child may have several admissions, several ultrasound examinations, several ventilator days and several device-days. Decide in writing whether the analysis counts children, admissions, episodes, scans or device-days, and if the same child contributes more than once, say how the correlation between those observations is handled. Device-associated infection reported per patient is not comparable to any published surveillance rate, which uses infections per thousand device-days.
An achievable primary outcome. Only one outcome is primary. In a unit where death is uncommon, the primary outcome usually has to be organ dysfunction, ventilator-free days, PICU-free days, extubation failure within forty-eight hours, or functional status at discharge. Whichever is chosen, define it operationally — extubation failure needs a stated time window and must specify whether reintubation for a new indication counts.
A definitions annexure. Shock, sepsis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, fluid overload, extubation failure, acute kidney injury and treatment failure each need a written rule that a second observer could apply to the same chart and reach the same answer. This annexure is where most PICU protocols are weakest and where most examiner questions land.
A consent pathway built for emergency admission. Children arrive at night, in extremis, with a guardian who is frightened and has not slept. A protocol claiming consecutive enrolment must say what happens to eligible children whose guardian could not be approached, and must plan a screening log so those children are visible in the flow diagram rather than silently absent.
Paediatric intensive care synopsis versus paediatric intensive care protocol
The synopsis is the document the university or board approves. It is short and fixed in format: title, a brief background with a focused review of literature, a clear aim with numbered objectives, a summarised methods section covering study design, setting, duration, population, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size with its calculation, the outcome measures and the planned analysis, followed by references in the prescribed style and the signatures of guide, co-guide and head of department. The proforma, consent and assent documents and the master chart format are attached. It is written to be read in fifteen minutes by a committee that is not from the speciality.
The protocol is the document the work is actually run from. It carries everything the synopsis summarises, expanded until it is executable: the full operating procedure for each measurement, who performs it and on what machine, the calibration or quality-control step, the definitions annexure, the statistical analysis plan including how missing data and protocol deviations are handled, the data collection sheet and the timeline.
Where the two diverge in intensive care. The load sits in the definitions annexure. A synopsis can say that septic shock was defined by standard criteria; the protocol must state which criteria, which age-specific thresholds, at which time point, using which fluid volume, and what is done when a child fulfils the criteria only after the child has already received care elsewhere. A synopsis can say lung ultrasound was performed; the protocol must state the zones, the probe, the patient position, whether the operator was blinded to the clinical picture, how many operators there were and how disagreement was resolved. If the ultrasound is performed by the treating registrar who already knows the child, that is not a blinded assessment and the protocol should admit it and describe the mitigation.
Sequence. Draft the protocol first and reduce it to the synopsis. Working the other way produces a synopsis that reads well and a study that cannot be run, and the gaps then appear during data collection when nothing can be changed.
Sample size and statistical analysis
Start from the admission register, not from a formula. Count how many children in the last full year would have met the inclusion criteria. A design needing one hundred and twenty children with septic shock is not feasible in a unit that admits forty such children a year, however elegant the calculation looks. The feasible enrolment window in most thesis periods is fourteen to eighteen months after ethics clearance, and the eligible fraction is usually far smaller than the total admission figure suggests.
Match the formula to the question. A prevalence estimate uses a single proportion with an absolute precision. A comparison of two groups uses a difference in proportions or means with a stated clinically relevant difference, not a difference borrowed from a study in a different setting. A diagnostic accuracy study is powered on the expected sensitivity and its precision, and the sample size then applies to the number of children with the target condition, so the total needed is that figure divided by the expected prevalence — the step most often omitted. Agreement studies are powered on the precision of the limits of agreement or of kappa, not on a p value.
Do not power on death. Mortality in a general teaching-hospital PICU is low enough that a study designed to detect a difference in it would need thousands of children. Where survival must be reported, report it descriptively and place the power calculation on the organ-dysfunction score, ventilator-free days, extubation failure or functional status instead.
Ventilator-free days are not a normally distributed variable. A child who dies must be assigned zero ventilator-free days, otherwise dying early is rewarded as a good outcome. That assignment produces a distribution with a spike at zero and a spike at the maximum, so a t-test on the mean is not valid. Report the median with interquartile range and compare with a rank-based test, or use a method that models the two components separately.
Death competes with extubation and with discharge. In a time-to-event analysis of extubation or of PICU stay, treating death as censoring assumes the child would have been extubated later, which is false. Use cumulative incidence with death as a competing event, and say so in the analysis plan. A Kaplan-Meier curve for time to extubation in a cohort with deaths will overstate the extubation rate.
Correlated observations. Serial blood gases, repeated ultrasound examinations, several device-days and readmissions all cluster within a child. Three hundred scans in eighty children is a sample of eighty for most purposes. Either restrict the analysis to one observation per child and say which one, or use a mixed model or generalised estimating equations and state the clustering variable.
Discrimination is not calibration. For any score or biomarker predicting an outcome, report the area under the curve with its confidence interval and a calibration assessment — observed against expected events across risk groups, with the standardised mortality ratio where death is the outcome. A cut-off chosen from the same data by maximising the Youden index is optimistically biased; state whether the cut-off was prespecified or derived, and call a derived one exploratory.
Missing data. Record-based PICU work always has gaps, and the gaps are not random — a child too unstable for a procedure has a missing value because of severity. Report how much was missing for each key variable and what was done about it. Silent deletion of incomplete records is the commonest analytical error in retrospective intensive care dissertations.
Frequently Asked Questions – Paediatric Intensive Care Thesis Topics (2026–27)
1. How do I choose a paediatric intensive care thesis topic that my unit can actually complete?
Count before choosing. Pull the admission register for the last complete year and count how many children would have met the inclusion criteria of the topic being considered, then halve that figure to allow for admissions at times when nobody could enrol, guardians who decline, transfers out and incomplete records. For a thesis registered in 2026, the realistic enrolment window after ethics clearance is fourteen to eighteen months, so the annual eligible count multiplied by roughly one and a half, then halved, is the honest ceiling. If that number is below the sample size the design needs, change the topic rather than the assumptions. The second filter is measurement: if the study depends on a variable the unit does not record in routine practice, someone has to record it prospectively at three in the morning, and that person is usually the candidate.
2. Which study designs are accepted for a paediatric intensive care thesis?
Prospective observational cohorts are the commonest and the safest. Diagnostic accuracy studies comparing a bedside index against an accepted standard are well accepted provided the standard is genuinely independent and the assessors are separated. Agreement studies comparing two methods of measuring the same thing are accepted but are frequently mislabelled: comparing two ways of measuring cardiac filling is an agreement question answered with limits of agreement, not a diagnostic accuracy question answered with sensitivity, and not a comparison answered with a correlation coefficient. Retrospective record-based studies are accepted where the variables are reliably documented and the ethics committee grants a waiver of consent. Before-and-after quality improvement work on stewardship, bundles or fluid practice is increasingly accepted and suits a unit-level question. Randomised interventional work is possible but needs a strong justification, prospective trial registration and a realistic view of how few eligible children a single unit produces.
3. What must I settle with my guide before I start writing?
Six things, all in writing. The exact population with its exclusions, including whether children transferred in after treatment elsewhere are eligible. The single primary outcome and its operational definition. Who performs each measurement, on which machine, at which time point, and whether that person knows the clinical picture. Whether the data belong to the candidate alone or are shared with a departmental project already running, because that determines what can be published and by whom. The age reference chart to be used for every vital sign threshold. And the definitions annexure, agreed line by line, because disagreement about what counts as extubation failure or as ventilator-associated pneumonia is far easier to resolve before data collection than during analysis.
4. My PICU records only a few deaths a year, so what outcome should I measure?
Choose an outcome that varies. Mortality in a general paediatric intensive care unit is uncommon enough that most thesis-sized cohorts contain single-figure deaths, which cannot support a comparison and will not reach significance whatever the effect. The workable alternatives are organ dysfunction measured as a score at a fixed time point or as its change over the first days, ventilator-free days or PICU-free days at twenty-eight days, extubation failure within a stated window, escalation of support, new device-associated infection against device-days, and functional status at discharge compared with the pre-admission baseline recorded from the guardian. Each of these occurs often enough to be modelled. Survival should still be reported, but as a descriptive characteristic of the cohort rather than as the endpoint the study was designed around. An examiner will accept a well-defined intermediate outcome; an examiner will not accept a power calculation that assumed a mortality difference the unit could never demonstrate.
5. What is the difference between a synopsis and a protocol?
The synopsis is the short approval document submitted to the university or board, containing the title, background, aim and objectives, summarised methodology, sample size, planned analysis, references and signatures, with the proforma and consent documents attached. The protocol is the longer working document the study is run from, containing the full procedure for every measurement, the definitions annexure, the statistical analysis plan, the handling of missing data and deviations, the data collection sheet and the timeline. The protocol should be written first and compressed into the synopsis, because a synopsis written first tends to conceal exactly the operational decisions that later stall the work.
6. What ethics approval and consent does a PICU study need?
Institutional ethics committee approval is required before the first child is screened, and no data collected before the approval date can be used. Consent is given by a parent or legal guardian, and written assent should be taken separately from a child of about seven years and above who is conscious and able to understand, with the assent document written in language appropriate to the age. Where the child is sedated or unconscious at enrolment and later recovers, the protocol should say whether assent is sought at that point.
Record-based work. A retrospective study using existing case records may be granted a waiver of consent, but the application must state how identifiers are removed, who holds the linking key and where the anonymised dataset is stored. A waiver is granted by the committee, not assumed by the candidate.
Procedures and sampling. No child should receive additional ionising radiation, additional contrast, or a venepuncture performed only for the study. Blood for research must come from samples already being drawn for clinical care, and the protocol should state the volume limit against the child's weight — a common ceiling is one per cent of total blood volume at any single draw and three per cent over four weeks, which for a total blood volume of about eighty millilitres per kilogram is roughly point eight millilitres per kilogram at one time and two point four millilitres per kilogram over the month. In a five-kilogram infant that is a few millilitres, which is why serial biomarker designs usually fail on ethical grounds rather than on cost. Additional bedside ultrasound is non-invasive but still adds handling time to an unstable child and should be declared.
Photographs and video. Clinical photographs, ultrasound clips that capture the face, and any video of the child or of family presence during procedures require consent separate from the consent for participation, with the permitted uses stated explicitly.
Incidental findings. Focused ultrasound in this population will produce them — an unsuspected pericardial effusion, previously undiagnosed structural heart disease on a focused cardiac view, hydronephrosis, a pleural collection larger than expected. The protocol must name the pathway: the finding is recorded in the case file the same day, communicated to the treating consultant, referred to paediatric cardiology or paediatric surgery as appropriate, and disclosed to the guardian, with the consent document telling the guardian in advance that this can happen. A protocol that treats research imaging as though it never generates clinical information will be sent back.
7. My study validates PRISM III or PIM-3, so is a good AUC enough?
No, and this is where most severity score dissertations fail on examination. The area under the curve measures discrimination only — whether the score ranks children who died above children who survived. A score can rank almost perfectly and still be badly wrong about how many children die, because the model was calibrated on a population with a different case-mix. That is precisely the situation in most Indian units, where scores developed largely on Australasian, British and North American cohorts encounter a population with more severe undernutrition, more infective disease, more late referral and almost no elective post-operative admissions. The consequence is systematic over-prediction of death alongside a perfectly respectable area under the curve.
A validation study must therefore report calibration as well: observed against expected deaths across risk strata, a calibration plot, a goodness-of-fit assessment and the standardised mortality ratio with its confidence interval. If the score performs poorly, the useful contribution is recalibration of the intercept for the local population, not the conclusion that the score is invalid.
The second failure is the measurement window. These scores use the worst physiological values within a defined early period, and the definition assumes the child arrives before treatment. Children referred from another hospital or resuscitated in casualty have already had their worst values corrected, so they score lower than their true severity and the score under-predicts risk in exactly the group that carries most of it. Record the point of first contact, record whether the child was referred, and analyse referred and direct admissions separately before pooling them. A validation study that ignores where the child was in the hour before the clock started is measuring the referral system as much as the score.
8. How is a PhD research proposal different from an MD synopsis?
An MD or DNB synopsis answers one question within a fixed thesis period, with a single primary outcome and a sample size the department can supply. A PhD proposal defines a programme of work, usually built from several linked studies over three or more years, and must argue for original contribution against a systematic and critical review of the existing literature rather than a brief background. It carries a hypothesis with a theoretical framework, a phased timeline with milestones, a plan for funding and infrastructure, an account of feasibility and risk with contingency, and a statement of expected output including planned publications. Length and referencing conventions differ, review is by a doctoral committee rather than a departmental one, and a preliminary or pilot dataset is often expected before approval.
9. When should I register my thesis and how long will the work take?
Registration deadlines are usually within the first six to nine months of the course and are unforgiving, so the topic should be settled early in the first year. The sequence is topic and guide, protocol drafting, departmental review, ethics committee submission, approval, then data collection — and only the last step generates results. Ethics review commonly takes four to eight weeks and longer if the committee asks for revision, which should be budgeted rather than hoped against. Interventional studies need prospective trial registration before the first enrolment. Allow fourteen to eighteen months of collection, three months for analysis and writing, and a further margin for plagiarism screening, guide corrections, binding and submission, which most universities require several months ahead of the final examination. Candidates who lose their thesis period almost always lose it between protocol drafting and ethics approval, not during data collection.
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