The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
Chapter 29 The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) Andrew D. Bersten The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was first described in 1967 by Ashbaugh and colleagues as the ‘acute onset…
Status epilepticus
Chapter 43 Status epilepticus Helen Ingrid Opdam Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical emergency requiring prompt intervention to prevent the development of irreversible brain damage. The duration of seizure activity…
Abdominal surgical catastrophes
Chapter 39 Abdominal surgical catastrophes Stephen J. Streat Intra-abdominal surgical catastrophes are common conditions in intensive care units (ICUs)1 and typically occur in elderly patients with comorbidity and reduced physiological…
Severe acute pancreatitis
Chapter 37 Severe acute pancreatitis Duncan LA. Wyncoll Acute inflammation of the pancreas produces a spectrum of symptoms, which may be mild and self-limiting, or reflect severe disease that leads…
Intensive care after cardiac surgery
Chapter 22 Intensive care after cardiac surgery Raymond F. Raper Coronary artery bypass surgery is one of the most frequently undertaken surgical procedures. Because of the prevalence of cardiac disease,…
Adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Chapter 17 Adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation Peter T. Morley The incidence and outcomes of cardiac arrests appeared not to have changed dramatically over a number of decades. However, a number of…
Lactic acidosis
Chapter 15 Lactic acidosis D J (Jamie) Cooper, Alistair D. Nichol Lactic acidosis is defined by convention as the combination of an increased blood lactate concentration (> 5 mmol/l) and…
Shock – an overview
Chapter 11 Shock – an overview Angela McLuckie DEFINITION Shock is a clinical state, with characteristic symptoms and signs, which occurs when an imbalance between oxygen supply and demand results…
Severity of illness and likely outcome from critical illness
Chapter 3 Severity of illness and likely outcome from critical illness Mark Palazzo At present scoring systems are not sufficiently accurate to make outcome predictions for individual patients. Clinical assessment…
Clinical information systems
Chapter 9 Clinical information systems David Fraenkel Clinical record-keeping requires an integrated system to manage the information, including its acquisition during clinical care, and archiving and availability for future clinical,…
