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ICU Management

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Synonyms

Critical care; Injured patients; Intensive care unit; Nurse practitioner; Physician assistants; Trauma

Definition

Patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU)-level care are the sickest patients in the hospital. They often require life-saving medications, monitoring, and technologies such as ventilators, intracranial pressure monitors, continuous hemodialysis, continuous electrocardiogram monitoring, and frequent radiographic imaging such as CAT scans and MRIs. Medical management of critically ill and traumatically injured patients in an ICU is some of the most scientifically complex, intellectually challenging, and resource-dependent care provided within the hospital. Specialized members of many different healthcare fields are needed to manage each patient’s unique combination of life-supporting therapies.

Preexisting Conditions

Traumatically injured patients who enter the ICU are a specialized group of patients with major life- or limb-threatening injuries or burns caused by...

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References

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Correspondence to Carla J. Wittenberg .

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wittenberg, C.J., Imhoff, B. (2015). ICU Management. In: Papadakos, P.J., Gestring, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Trauma Care. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29613-0_346

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29613-0_346

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29611-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29613-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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