critical care medicine
Introduction to the Approach to the Critically Ill Patient
Introduction
Critical care medicine specializes in caring for the most seriously ill patients. These patients are best treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) staffed by experienced personnel. Some hospitals maintain separate units for special populations (eg, cardiac, transplant, trauma, surgical, neurologic, pediatric, or neonatal patients). ICUs have a high nurse:patient ratio to provide the necessary high intensity of service, including treatment and monitoring of physiologic parameters. Supportive care for the ICU patient includes Enteral Tube Nutrition and treatment and prevention of infection, 