Clinical Intensive Care

This highly practical, problem-oriented handbook is intended for medical and nursing staff who work with critically ill patients, particularly in an intensive care setting. It offers a pathophysiological basis for understanding the hour-by-hour management of the critically ill. The major part of the book is organised around general clinical issues that are common to all patients in intensive care, including; fluid therapy, sedation and analgesia, monitoring, multiorgan failure and acute cardiovascular and respiratory failure. Later chapters are devoted to specific problems relating to particular organ systems, and to the special issues of paediatric and obstetric critical care. This compendium of detailed practical advice is accompanied by an exploration of ethical problems, quality assurance and questions of outcome. Many informative figures and tables are included, and 'trouble-shooting' sections address common clinical dilemmas in intensive care. Designed for regular use and rapid consultation, it is the one reference all clinicians in intensive care will need.