The aim of this chapter is to review the evidence surrounding the use of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. It examines the conventional indications…
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) and is associated with poor outcomes. There is evidence that even minor short-term changes in serum creatinine (i.e.,…
In 1616, William Harvey described the relationship of the right ventricle (RV) to the pulmonary circulation. For many years after that, this cardiac chamber has been underappreciated. Indeed, in 1943,…
Supraventricular arrhythmias are the most common rhythm disturbance encountered in postsurgical patients. The incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation may be as high as 50% after cardiac surgery, 40% after pneumonectomy,…
Systemic hypertension remains a global priority because it is common and serious. Hypertension affects approximately 1 billion people worldwide and is responsible for over 9 million deaths each year. It…
The term autonomic dysfunction is frequently associated with the syndrome of critical illness. Numerous studies have reported a striking association among depressed autonomic activity (usually measured as reduced heart rate…
Organ dysfunction is a hallmark of sepsis. Scientific investigation has focused on identifying potential causes and therapeutic targets of this component of the syndrome. Although various pathways and cellular systems…
The vast majority of patients with acute heart failure (AHF) are hospitalized with signs and symptoms of volume overload. Therefore the most important treatment strategy is to alleviate organ congestion,…
Cardiogenic shock (CS) is defined as an inability of the heart to provide adequate blood flow to maintain the metabolic demands of tissue despite adequate intravascular volume. This definition, and…
Medicine is an ancient discipline, but the capacity to avert otherwise certain death is recent. Intravenous fluid therapy was first used in London during the cholera epidemic of 1832; refinements…
