"One of the top ten websites in critical care medicine education today"
(Wolbrink et al, Journal of Intensive Care Medicine 2018)

Welcome to LearnPICU! This site contains summaries of core topics in pediatric critical care medicine. It also includes quick medication and equipment references, a collection of procedural videos, a summary of key articles, board-type questions, a survival guide, and more. Whether you are a medical student or a seasoned intensivist, we hope you find the resources here helpful. 


Recent News

November 6
New Stanford Pediatrics Housestaff Pocket Card (created by J Brad Segal, MD MBE) now up under General PICU Resources or directly here. 

October 15
ICU-ROX trial shows no difference in clinical outcomes for adult ICU patients on mechanical ventilation treated with conservative (90-97% SpO2) vs. usual oxygen therapy (90+% SpO2). 

May 19
ROSE trial, completed by the PETAL network, in contrast to ACURASYS, found no differences in outcomes comparing early NMB (cisatracurium) to standard sedation in adult patients with moderate/severe ARDS (PF<150)

May 19
SPICE III Trial (Shehabi et al, NEJM 2019) finds no difference in clinical outcomes for adult mechanically ventilated patients treated with dexmedetomidine as first line sedation vs. standard sedation.

March 4

February 25
Check out the The PCICS Podcast - The Official Podcast of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society, hosted and produced by our very own Stanford PCCM alum, David Werho. 

LearnPICU Twitter Feed



The site began as Custer's Core Curriculum and was named in honor of Dr. Joseph Custer, founder of the pediatric intensive care unit at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, a teacher and mentor to countless fellows, residents, and medical students, and who taught us that when it comes down to it, "the air goes in and out and the blood goes round and round."  


Dr. Joseph Custer


We hope you find the site helpful and welcome any comments or suggestions to improve its content and usefulness. Please contact Dr. Kevin Kuo, editor of the site, with any comments, questions, or suggestions.