Chapter 18 Management of cardiac arrhythmias Andrew Holt CARDIAC ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY The electrophysiological properties of cardiac cells are important in understanding cardiac arrhythmias and their management. Cardiac cells undergo cyclical depolarisation…
Chapter 27 Mechanical ventilation Andrew D. Bersten Mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure (ARF) is now a routine aspect of patient management in the intensive care unit (ICU). The 1952…
Chapter 52 Thyroid emergencies Jonathan Handy Thyroid emergencies are a rare cause for admission to critical care. However, mortality is high unless specific treatment is provided in an expeditious manner….
Chapter 35 Imaging the chest Simon P G. Padley RADIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES Of the imaging techniques available for investigating patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), the chest radiograph remains the…
Chapter 23 Echocardiography in intensive care Karl D. Donovan, Frances B. Colreavy Echocardiography refers to a group of interrelated ultrasound applications used to examine the heart and great vessels. The…
Chapter 42 Disorders of consciousness Balasubramanian Venkatesh NEUROANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF WAKEFULNESS A normal level of consciousness depends on the interaction between the cerebral hemispheres and the rostral reticular activating…
Chapter 84 Acid–base balance and disorders Thomas J. Morgan THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS The structural integrity of intracellular enzymes is essential for survival. Proton activity at enzymatic sites of action in cytosol…
Chapter 79 Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug monitoring in critical illness Richard N. Upton, John A. Myburgh, Raymond G. Morris Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the study of the absorption, distribution, metabolism and…
Chapter 14 Monitoring oxygenation Thomas John Morgan, Balasubramanian Venkatesh THE ROLES OF OXYGEN IN AEROBIC ORGANISMS Oxygen has several vital physiological roles: 1 Bioenergetics. Aerobic mitochondrial respiration accounts for 90%…
Chapter 16 Acute cardiac syndromes, investigations and interventions Brad Power Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 35–40%1 of deaths in western industrialised society, with coronary artery disease (CAD) being responsible for…
