Visite des enfants en réanimation

This scenario describes the situation of a patient admitted in intensive care with a vital organ failure who has two children. The children have expressed their wish to visit their father. In the past years, our intensive care units have gradually opened the doors to the patients' relatives. In spite of most of the health care workers agree on the principle of facilitating the visit of children, many have reservations related to lack of time, lack of preparation and, most importantly, fear to cause a psychological suffering to the child. We argue, trough this scenario, the potential benefits for the children, and we formulate some propositions to facilitate a children's visit to an adult intensive care unit.