med surg and pediatric surgery team childrens hospital kings daughters

EB is a 6-year-old girl 2 days postop from laparotomy. Ms. Covey and Ms. Quanty noted that she was more somnolent than usual, which her mother had raised concern about. They listened to this mother. As the pediatric surgery team came for rounds, they fairly tackled us to make sure that we checked this out. Ms. Nikolaus asked the key question about headaches in this child with a ventriculoatrial shunt. That led to a head CT scan, which showed enlarged ventricles suggestive of shunt malfunction. Drs. Adam Conley and Robert Obermeyer revised the blocked shunt. This afternoon the child had returned to her spunky self in the PICU. These nurses likely saved this child's life through their actions.