Received: 16 November 2001 Accepted: 19 September 2002 Published online: 29 October 2002 © Springer-Verlag 2002 Abstract Objective: To assess and compare the structure, organisation, management, and staffing in differ- ent paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in Europe. Design: Descrip- tive study. Setting: A questionnaire was sent to physicians in PICUs. Physician’s names were obtained from the membership list of the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care. Interventions: None. Participants: Physicians from 92 European PICUs. Measurements and main results: Responses were obtained from 92 PICUs (60% of those surveyed, 64% of hospitals with PICUs). A blank response was obtained in <2% of the questions. Considerable diversity in structure, organisation, staffing, and manage- ment in European PICUs was found. Significant differences were ob- served in unit size, which ranged from 2–56 (average: 8–10) beds/unit. In several – predominantly German- speaking – countries paediatric and neonatal intensive care beds are frequently combined in single units. Most European PICUs (98%) had at least part-time coverage by a paediatric intensivist; 78% had 24-h intensivist coverage. Specialized PICU nurses were present in 98% of European PICUs, and most (75%) had 24-h physician coverage by a physician with no responsibilities outside the PICU. Conclusions: Data obtained in our survey demonstrate the substantial structural, organisat- ional management, and staff diversi- ty of paediatric ICUs. Most Europe- an PICUs employ specialized PICU nurses and have at least part time coverage by paediatric intensivists. Keywords Paediatrics · Intensive care · PICU · NICU · Structure · Organisation · Management and staffing Intensive Care Med (2002) 28:1797–1803 DOI 10.1007/s00134-002-1532-y NEONATAL AND PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE Martine D. Nipshagen Kees H. Polderman Dennis DeVictor Reinoud J.B.J. Gemke Pediatric intensive care: result of a European survey Introduction Paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) play an increas- ingly important role in the care for critically ill children. In recent years the number of hospitals with PICUs more or less separate from general ICUs has increased signifi- cantly; however, little information is available regarding PICU management, staffing, and other organisational as- pects. The only study dealing specifically with organisat- ional aspects of PICU care was carried out in 1993 in the United States [1]. Few data are available regarding PICU management and organisation in Europe. Such factors are important because many studies in adult, paediatric, and neonatal intensive care units have shown that ICU outcome and quality of care can be strongly influenced by managerial and organisational factors [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]. This is illustrated by reports showing that efficiency in use of ICU resources increases when full-time intensivists are employed [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] and that ICU mortality may be reduced when full-time critical care specialists are employed [9]. To clarify this issue we decided to carry out a survey to study organisation and management in paediatric intensive care units in Europe. M.D. Nipshagen · R.J.B.J. Gemke ( ✉ ) Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Vrije Universiteit Medical center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: RJBJ.Gemke@vumc.nl Tel.: +31-20-4442413 Fax: +31-20-4442918 K.H. Polderman Department of Intensive Care, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands D. DeVictor Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Bicêtre, Paris, France