Stroke is currently recognized as the fifth most common cause of death and the leading cause of permanent disability in the United States, affecting nearly 795,000 people annually. Acute ischemic stroke is a true medical emergency and must be treated…
Cardiopulmonary arrest occurs as the endpoint or consequence of many diseases. The mechanism is often unknown when treatment is initiated, and an algorithmic approach titrated to real-time monitoring is used. When the cause is known or suspected, individualized therapy can…
Brain injury represents a constellation of both well- and ill-defined neurologic conditions that are the sequelae of both traumatic and nontraumatic illness, including stroke, anoxic-ischemic events, and sepsis. Traditionally, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG) have…
Coma Disorders of altered consciousness present a diagnostic dilemma to the clinician in the critical care setting. They represent a wide of range of pathology that can be systemic in nature or the result of structural or nonstructural intracranial pathology.…
Introduction Little can be done to reverse the primary brain damage caused by an insult; however, one of the major factors influencing outcome in patients with acute brain injury is the additional brain damage that occurs from secondary brain injury…
Critically ill patients typically have anorexia and are frequently unable to take oral diets. Therefore micronutrients and macronutrients should be prescribed as enteral or parenteral nutrition. The catabolic response of critical illness is characterized by inflammatory and endocrine stress responses…
Introduction Use of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) for respiratory and/or cardiac failure continues to increase, with almost 500 Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) centers worldwide and almost 100,000 patients now added to the ELSO registry. In actuality, ECLS use is…
Definitions Hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature lower than 36°C, regardless of the cause. Within hypothermia we can still distinguish mild (i.e., between 35°C and 32°C), moderate (i.e., between 32°C and 28°C), severe (i.e., between 28°C and 24°C),…
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Epidemiologic data suggest that over 50% of ICU patients suffer from AKI, and up to 13.5% will be treated with renal…
Mechanical ventilatory support provides pressure and flow to the airways to help accomplish oxygen (O 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) transport between the environment and the pulmonary capillary bed. The overall clinical goal of mechanical ventilation is…