How Should Trauma Patients Be Managed in the Intensive Care Unit?
Each year, in the United States, more than 2.5 million people are killed or hospitalized as a result of traumatic injuries. Over one quarter of these patients are treated in…
Is It Appropriate to “Underfeed” the Critically Ill Patient?
Critically ill patients are often hypermetabolic and can rapidly become nutritionally compromised. Iatrogenic malnutrition is prevalent in these patients and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Consequently, the…
How Should Acute Ischemic Stroke Be Managed in the Intensive Care Unit?
Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is a leading cause of long-term disability for adults. The health-care cost of stroke patients in 2010…
How Is Acute Liver Failure Managed?
Acute liver failure (ALF) is a catastrophic condition that results in multiple organ failure. The severity of the illness and the rapidity of clinical deterioration in a previously healthy individual…
How Does Critical Illness Alter the Liver?
Liver alterations are common in critical illness. These changes can be attributed to diverse factors, including systemic inflammation and poor perfusion but also to drugs and parenteral nutrition. Damage ranges…
How Should Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Be Managed?
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a type of hemorrhagic stroke due to rupture of an intracranial aneurysm, affects approximately 30,000 Americans each year and has a mortality rate of nearly 45%….
How Should Traumatic Brain Injury Be Managed?
The morbidity and mortality resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI) stem not only from the primary brain damage caused by the initial impact but also from the secondary insults that…
Is It Really Necessary to Measure Intracranial Pressure in Brain-Injured Patients?
A search of the literature on the management of severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) will reveal evidence-based guidelines and consensus-based recommendations supporting intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring ( Table 61-1 )….
How Should Acid-Base Disorders Be Diagnosed and Managed?
Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis, a core component of critical care monitoring, provides immediate information on the status of the patient’s respiratory system and whether a state of acidosis or…
What Is the Meaning of a High Lactate? What Are the Implications of Lactic Acidosis?
An imbalance of oxygen delivery and demand with resultant organ dysfunction is the hallmark of critical illness. Measuring oxygen delivery, recognizing tissue hypoperfusion, and monitoring the response to therapeutic interventions…
