Neurology

Neurotrauma is defined as an injury to the human skull and brain, as well as connective spinal cord tissues and nerves.

Neurotrauma can be caused by a direct impact or by sudden acceleration alone (such as an explosion or violent shaking). In addition to the immediate damage caused at the moment of injury, brain trauma causes secondary injury, as the body and brain react to the effects of the initial injury.

Neurotrauma can cause a host of physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects. The outcome can range from complete recovery to permanent disability or death. Phoenix Children’s Hospital's multidisciplinary approach can tackle these issues, calling upon the training and experience of many specialists to provide treatment and rehabilitation to the patient.

Phoenix Children's Hospital can accept injured children 14 years and younger from Emergency Medical Services and referral facilities.

For diagnosis of neurological issues, the hospital has state-of-the-art medical equipment, including MRI and CT scans, that is specially made for diagnosing and monitoring our young patients. The interventional radiologists, neuroradiologists, and nuclear medicine physicians are all trained to diagnose and handle pediatric patients. In addition, the hospital's team of neuropsychologists will evaluate a neurotrauma patient, to test how a child is functioning in comparison to expectations for that child's age level.

Trauma centers are specially equipped and organized hospitals for seriously injured patients. Level I Trauma center care guarantees the immediate availability of specialized personnel, equipment, and capabilities 24 hours a day. See more about our Hospital's Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Trauma Center has been verified as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Verification Review Committee. The accomplishment makes the Hospital’s program Arizona’s first and only ACS-verified Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, and the 18th center nationally to earn this distinction.