NICU
Medical abbreviation · Hospital
| Stands for | Neonatal intensive care unit |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
NICU stands for Neonatal intensive care unit, a hospital abbreviation.
Intensive care unit for premature and sick newborns, offering ventilation, incubators, IV nutrition and specialist neonatal staff. Babies born before about 32 to 34 weeks or with serious conditions are usually cared for here.
Example: Infant born at 29 weeks, admitted to NICU on CPAP, surfactant given.
Usage notes
Pronounced "nick-you". The American Academy of Pediatrics defines four levels of neonatal care, with level IV units offering surgical repair of complex conditions. Some hospitals also use NICU for neurological intensive care, though Neuro ICU or NSICU is more common for that.
Related abbreviations
More hospital abbreviations
- LTC – Long-term care
- MBU – Mother-baby unit
- Med-Surg – Medical-surgical
- MET – Medical emergency team
- MICU – Medical intensive care unit
- NF – Nursing facility
- NM – Nurse manager
- NPSG – National Patient Safety Goals
- NSICU – Neuroscience intensive care unit
- Obs – Observation status
- OP – Outpatient
- OPD – Outpatient department
See all 89 hospital abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.