Thermal disorders
Chapter 74 Thermal disorders Anwar Hussein Body temperature is normally very tightly controlled by a balance between heat production and heat loss, through a complex feedback mechanism involving the thermoregulatory…
Severe pre-existing disease in pregnancy
Chapter 57 Severe pre-existing disease in pregnancy Steve M. Yentis The two main sources of information about the spectrum of pre-existing conditions that result in severe morbidity in pregnancy are…
Acute cerebrovascular complications
Chapter 44 Acute cerebrovascular complications Bernard Riley Cerebrovascular disease is common and its acute manifestations, known as stroke, produce considerable morbidity and mortality. Stroke is defined as an acute focal…
Acute calcium disorders
Chapter 54 Acute calcium disorders Balasubramanian Venkatesh Calcium is an important cation and the principal electrolyte of the body. A total of 1–2 kg is present in the average adult,…
Sedation and analgesia in children
Chapter 100 Sedation and analgesia in children Geoff Knight All children, including preterm infants, feel and remember pain and discomfort.1 Provision of adequate sedation and analgesia should therefore be a…
Heart and lung transplantation
Chapter 95 Heart and lung transplantation Cliff J. Morgan The first successful cardiac transplantation was performed at Groote Schuur, South Africa in 1967 and was followed by operations in other…
Organ donation
Chapter 93 Organ donation Stephen J. Streat Intensivists often have responsibility for the care of organ transplant recipients and have seen the benefits they obtain from transplantation. Clinical results continue…
Principles of antibiotic use
Chapter 64 Principles of antibiotic use Jeffrey Lipman The intensive care unit (ICU) is always the area of any hospital associated with the greatest use of antibiotics. Much of this…
Metabolic response to injury and infection
Chapter 86 Metabolic response to injury and infection Ian K S. Tan Injury and infection evoke in the host a hypermetabolic inflammatory response and a compensatory hypometabolic hypoimmune response. The…
Severe and multiple trauma
Chapter 66 Severe and multiple trauma James A. Judson Trauma can be defined as physical injury from mechanical energy. It is usually categorised as blunt or penetrating. In Western countries,…
