Intensive Care Medicine (Critical Care Medicine) is a growing subspecialty. Over the past three decades we have seen an enormous growth of intensive care units (ICU) in the United States. In these units, thousands of medical students, residents, fellows and attending physicians (irrespective of their ultimate specialty) spend several months or years of their professional lives taking care of critically ill or severely injured patients. These clinicians must have special training, experience, and competence in managing complex problems in their patients. They must interpret the data obtained by many kinds of monitoring devices, and they must integrate this information with their knowledge of the pathophysiology of disease.
There is a real need for a good "pocket-reference" book in this field. Intensive Care Medicine textbooks are too voluminous to be portable. Some of them have emphasis on research topics with little or no consideration for the actual management of the critically ill patient. For the house officer or medical student, a pocket ICU reference will have great utility and relevance, even when on a rotation that is not critical care oriented.
The latest edition of this handbook is a concise yet comprehensive guide for attending physicians, fellows, residents, and students who cover the ICU. The chapters follow an outline format and are divided by organ system, focusing on cardiovascular disorders, endocrinologic disorders, GI disorders, hematologic disorders, neurologic disorders, and pulmonary disorders. The book also features coverage on special topics, such as environmental disorders, special techniques, toxicology, trauma, and allergic/immunologic emergencies. The handbook includes thoroughly updated chapters from the previous edition, alongside completely new content.