ICU room

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Critical Care Unit (CCU) is a specialised department in a hospital that provides intensive care medicine. Many hospitals also have designated intensive care areas for certain specialities of medicine, as dictated by the needs and available resources of each hospital. The naming is not rigidly standardized. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 523 pixelsFull resolution (1934 × 1264 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 523 pixelsFull resolution (1934 × 1264 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... For the town in the Republic of Ireland, see Hospital, County Limerick. ... “Intensive Care” redirects here. ...

History

In response to a polio epidemic (where many patients required constant ventilation and survelliance), Bjorn Ibsen established the first intensive care unit in Copenhagen in 1953.^[1] The first application of this idea in the US was pioneered by Dr. William Mosenthal, a surgeon at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.^[2] In the 1960s, the importance of cardiac arrhythmias as a source of morbidity and mortality in myocardial infarctions (Heart Attacks) was recognized. This led to the routine use of cardiac monitoring in ICUs, especially in the post-MI setting. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is a teaching hospital and medical network headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

Different forms of ICUs

Specialized types of ICUs include:

• Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
• Special Care Baby unit (SCBU)
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
• Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
• Coronary Care Unit (CCU) for heart disease
• Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)
• Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)
• Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU)
• Neuroscience Critical Care Unit (NCCU)
• Overnight Intensive Recovery (OIR)
• Neuro Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Burn Wounds Intensive Care Unit
• Trauma Intensive care Unit (TICU)
• Shock Trauma Intensive care Unit (STICU)

A newborn infant sleeping in his incubator. ... A coronary care unit (CCU) is a hospital ward specialised in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment. ...

Equipment and systems

Common equipment in an ICU includes mechanical ventilator to assist breathing through an endotracheal tube or a tracheotomy opening; dialysis equipment for renal problems; equipment for the constant monitoring of bodily functions; a web of intravenous lines, feeding tubes, nasogastric tubes, suction pumps, drains and catheters; and a wide array of drugs to treat the main condition(s), induce sedation, reduce pain, and prevent secondary infections. A medical ventilator is a device designed to provide mechanical ventilation to a patient. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Completed tracheotomy: 1 - Vocal cords 2 - Thyroid cartilage 3 - Cricoid cartilage 4 - Tracheal cartilages 5 - Balloon cuff A tracheotomy is a procedure performed by paramedics, emergency physicians and surgeons in order to secure an airway. ... In medicine, dialysis is a type of renal replacement therapy which is used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function due to renal failure. ... A medical monitor is a medical device that displays a patients vital signs continually, without using paper. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmakon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and lego (λέγω) to tell (about)) is the study of how drugs interact with living organisms to produce a change in function. ...

Quality of care

Medicine suggests a relation between ICU volume and quality of care for mechanically ventilated patients. ^[3] After adjustment for severity of illness, demographic variables, and characteristics of the ICUs (including staffing by intensivists), higher ICU volume was significantly associated with lower ICU and hospital mortality rates. For example, adjusted ICU mortality (for a patient at average predicted risk for ICU death) was 21.2% in hospitals with 87 to 150 mechanically ventilated patients annually, and 14.5% in hospitals with 401 to 617 mechanically ventilated patients annually.

Staff

Medical staff typically includes intensivists with training in internal medicine, surgery, or anesthesia. Many Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants with specialized training are also now part of the staff that provide continuity of care for patients. Staff typically includes specially trained critical care Registered Nurses, Registered Respiratory Therapists, Nutritionists, Physical Therapists, etc.

See also

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Surgeon
• Anesthesia
• Anesthesiologist
• CRNA or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
• ASA score or pre-operative physical fittness
• Patient
• Physician
• Rare diseases
• Traumatology
• Health care
• Health profession
• Health care system

For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... “Surgeon” redirects here. ... Surgeon may refer to: a practitioner of surgery the moniker of British electronic music producer and DJ, Anthony Child; see Surgeon (musician) This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences) has traditionally meant the condition of having the perception of pain and other sensations blocked. ... An anesthesiologist (American English), or anaesthetist (British English), also anaesthesiologist, is a medical doctor trained to administer anesthesia and manage the medical care of patients before, during, and after surgery. ... Crna or CRNA or cRNA can have several meanings: CRNA - See also Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Crna is a river in the Republic of Macedonia. ... ASA stands for American Society of Anesthesiologists. ... A patient having his blood pressure taken by a doctor. ... For other uses, see Doctor. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Traumatology (from Greek Trauma meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical treatment and repair of the damage. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product, or service – otherwise known as spam. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ Intensive Care Unit. Internet Journal of Health.
2. ^ Remembering Dr. William Mosenthal: A simple idea from a special surgeon. Dartmouth Medicine. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
3. ^ Kahn JM, Goss CH, Heagerty PJ, Kramer AA, O'Brien CR, Rubenfeld GD. (2006). "Hospital volume and the outcomes of mechanical ventilation.". New England Journal of Medicine 355 (1): 41-50. Retrieved on 2006-08-02.