Care of the critically ill patient
First published: 29 November 2019
Summary
This chapter is an introductory summary of the important aspects of critical care medicine relevant to the care of surgical patients. Topics covered include recognition and response to severe infection, choices of resuscitation fluids, scores to quantify organ dysfunction and prediction models of the risk of ICU mortality. Emphasis is placed on the integrated approach required to repeatedly evaluate critically ill patients while simultaneously providing resuscitation, diagnostic work-up and management of underlying clinical pathology.
