Recovery & Support for Sepsis in Children

At Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, neonatal and pediatric specialists remain involved in your child’s care after treatment in the hospital to ensure a complete recovery from sepsis. Depending on the severity of your child’s symptoms and complications, recovery may take a few weeks or longer.

Throughout treatment, families may benefit from a variety of wellness and child-life programs. These child and family support services and resilience programs are provided by Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care.

Respiratory Support

Babies and children who received oxygen therapy during their hospital stay may need additional oxygen therapy at home until they can breathe more easily on their own. Supplemental oxygen can be given at home by using a nasal cannula, a small, flexible tube that is placed in the nostrils and attached to a small oxygen tank.

Another way to give oxygen is with a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine, which delivers pressurized air through a mask that covers the face.

Our doctors provide families with oxygen therapy equipment and instructions about how to use it.

Physical Therapy

After a long stay in the hospital, children who are already walking may experience muscle weakness and balance problems. Our physical therapists can develop an exercise plan tailored to your child’s needs to help your child improve gait, balance, and strength as he or she recovers from sepsis treatment.

These therapies begin while your child is in the hospital and may continue at NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation if outpatient therapy is needed.

Counseling for Families

Our doctors understand the anxiety a family may have when their baby or child experiences a traumatic illness such as sepsis. Our neonatal and pediatric experts provide care within a family-centered, supportive environment and can make referrals to counselors for psychological support.