Chapter 33 Non-invasive ventilation Graeme Duke, Andrew D. Bersten Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is a valuable therapeutic option in the management of acute and chronic respiratory failure – for some diagnoses…

Chapter 77 Blast injury and gunshot wounds pathophysiology and principles of management Stephen Brett Widespread terrorist outrages in the recent past have once again served to emphasise that unpredictable events…

Chapter 12 Haemodynamic monitoring David J. Sturgess, Thomas John Morgan Haemodynamics is the study of blood flow. Haemodynamic monitoring therefore refers to the monitoring of blood flow through the cardiovascular…

Chapter 67 Severe head injury John A. Myburgh Despite improvements in resuscitation and vital organ support, the management of patients with traumatic brain injury in the intensive care unit (ICU)…

Chapter 82 Inotropes and vasopressors John A. Myburgh The pharmacological support of the failing circulation is a fundamental part of critical care. The principal aim of these drugs is to…

Chapter 69 Chest injuries Ubbo F. Wiersema CHEST INJURIES The majority of chest injuries in Australasia result from blunt trauma due to motor vehicle crashes. Less frequent causes include falls…

Chapter 20 Acute heart failure David Treacher The pattern of heart failure seen in the community, outpatients clinics and specialist cardiac wards is dominated by the acute coronary syndromes and…

Chapter 73 Burns David P. Mackie The last half of the twentieth century witnessed a sustained improvement in the survival of patients suffering thermal injury. Arguably, the single most important…

Chapter 88 Blood transfusion James P. Isbister Blood component therapy has a central therapeutic role in clinical medicine, but blood banking and transfusion medicine has tended to focus on the…

Chapter 21 Valvular and congenital heart disease John E. Sanderson VALVULAR HEART DISEASE Valvular heart disease is still a common cause for symptoms and disability worldwide. In most economically developed…