Pediatric Trauma and Critical Care: From Basic to Clinic

With the ongoing development of the social economy, the incidence of childhood trauma has continued to rise annually, making the management of critical pediatric conditions an increasingly significant challenge. Diagnosing trauma in children is particularly complex, as they often struggle to express or accurately describe their symptoms, especially in cases involving multi-system injuries. Moreover, children’s unique physiological and anatomical features contribute to a higher incidence of severe post-traumatic complications and an elevated risk of traumatic brain injury. Their limited cardiopulmonary reserve further increases vulnerability to hemorrhagic shock. Additionally, surgical procedures carry greater risks, airway management is more demanding, and optimal care requires intensive multidisciplinary collaboration. Critically injured children are also more prone to long-term neurological sequelae, frequently necessitating psychological support and rehabilitation therapy. Therefore, effective pediatric trauma management demands recognition of children’s physiological particularities, rapid responses, multidisciplinary teamwork, and comprehensive, full-cycle care to optimize patient outcomes.

Goal

The field of global pediatric trauma and critical care is experiencing a major shift from traditional practices to more precise, intelligent, and systematic approaches. This transformation is fueled by a growing understanding of children's unique needs and continuous progress in multidisciplinary and cross-regional collaborative technologies. This Special Issue highlights advances in the treatment of traumatic injuries in children and the comprehensive management of critically ill pediatric patients. We invite submissions from experts in both basic and clinical research, covering areas such as specialized pediatric trauma management, perioperative care, complication prevention and management, intensive care unit strategies, and long-term follow-up of severe pediatric trauma cases.

Scope and Information for Authors

This Special Issue focuses on the treatment of various traumatic diseases in children and the management and care of critically ill children. We welcome submissions from experts in both basic and clinical research including but not limit to etiologic investigation, mechanism explore, diagnosis progress, advanced classification, novel treatment, effect comparison, rare complications, character summarize, patient management experience and prognosis analysis on following field:

· Pediatric skeletal trauma/fracture
· Pediatric traumatic brain injury
· Pediatric abdominal trauma
· Pediatric thoracic injury
· Pediatric polytrauma
· Pediatric trauma emergency care
· Severe infections in children
· Management of critical illnesses in children
· Pediatric multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
· Intensive care
· Clinical management and critical illnesses in children
· Sedation services
· Intracranial monitoring

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: pediatric trauma, critical care, treatment, basic research, clinical study

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.