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Evaluating Critical Care pp 167–184Cite as

Hypothesis Generation: Asking the Right Question, Getting the Correct Answer

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Part of the book series: Update in Intensive Care Medicine ((UICMSOFT,volume 35))

With its state-of-the-art, often futuristic technologies, intensive care has long been touted as an example of ‘c21st century’ medicine. Yet, as we now enter that century, intensive care arguably finds itself with a reputation somewhat tarnished. For example, the pulmonary artery catheter, a mainstay in the management of the critically ill, has been recently associated with harm to intensive care unit (ICU) patients [1], Similarly, emerging data regarding mechanical ventilation practice suggests that for years we may have been harming our patients with excessive tidal volumes and ventilatory pressures [2], [3]. And although we have made considerable in-roads in our understanding of the pathophysiology of sepsis and multiple systems organ failure, our field is littered with potential therapies that failed to improve outcomes in clinical trials.

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Authors
  1. D. C. Angus
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  2. P. Pronovost
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Critical Care, University of Toronto, Canada

    William J. Sibbald MD, FRCPC, FCCHSE (Professor of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief) (Professor of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief)

  2. Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook and Women’s College, Health Sciences Centre, M4N 3M5, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    William J. Sibbald MD, FRCPC, FCCHSE (Professor of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief) (Professor of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief)

  3. Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, B15 27H, Birmingham, UK

    Julian F. Bion FRCP, FRCA, MD (Reader and Regional Advisor in Intensive Care Medicine) (Reader and Regional Advisor in Intensive Care Medicine)

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Angus, D.C., Pronovost, P. (2002). Hypothesis Generation: Asking the Right Question, Getting the Correct Answer. In: Sibbald, W.J., Bion, J.F. (eds) Evaluating Critical Care. Update in Intensive Care Medicine, vol 35. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56719-3_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56719-3_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-42606-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56719-3

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