Fundamental Critical Care Support

This manual is aimed at all healthcare practitioners, from novice to expert, who care for the critically ill patient, recognising that different disciplines contribute to the provision of effective care and that essential knowledge and skills are shared by all practitioners. It provides evidence-based guidelines on core critical care procedures and includes a comprehensive competency framework and specific competencies to enable practitioners to assess their abilities and expertise. Each chapter provides a comprehensive overview, beginning with basic principles and progressing to more complex ideas, to support practitioners to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies in critical care.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. It constitutes a unique source of knowledge and guidance for all healthcare workers who care for patients with sepsis and septic shock in resource-limited settings. More than eighty percent of the worldwide deaths related to sepsis occur in resource-limited settings in low and middle-income countries. Current international sepsis guidelines cannot be implemented without adaptations towards these settings, mainly because of the difference in local resources and a different spectrum of infectious diseases causing sepsis. This prompted members of the Global Intensive Care working group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU, Bangkok, Thailand) - among which the Editors – to develop with an international group of experts a comprehensive set of recommendations for the management of sepsis in resource-limited settings. Recommendations are based on both current scientific evidence and clinical experience of clinicians working in resource-limited settings. The book includes an overview chapter outlining the current challenges and future directions of sepsis management as well as general recommendations on the structure and organization of intensive care services in resource-limited settings. Specific recommendations on the recognition and management of patients with sepsis and septic shock in these settings are grouped into seven chapters. The book provides evidence-based practical guidance for doctors in low and middle income countries treating patients with sepsis, and highlights areas for further research and discussion.

A fundamental and respected resource book in critical care, The ICU Book, Fourth Edition, continues to provide the current and practical guidance that have made it the best-selling text in critical care. The text addresses both the medical and surgical aspects of critical care, delivering the guidance needed to ensure sound, safe, and effective treatment for patients in intensive care—regardless of the specialty focus of the unit. This version does not include the updates and other functionality included in the tablet version that accompanies the print edition.

This is the first comprehensive study guide covering all aspects of pediatric critical care medicine. It fills a void that exists in learning resources currently available to pediatric critical care practitioners. The major textbooks are excellent references, but do not allow concise reading on specific topics and are not intended to act as both text and study guide. There are also several handbooks available, but these are usually written for general pediatric residents and lack the advanced physiology and pathophysiology required for the higher level pediatric critical care practitioner