Intensive

Intensive care medicine or critical care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life-threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.

Overview

Patients requiring intensive care may require support for hemodynamic instability (hypertension/hypotension), airway or respiratory compromise, acute renal failure, potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmias, or the cumulative effects of multiple organ failure, more commonly referred to now as multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. They may also be admitted for intensive/invasive monitoring, such as the crucial hours after major surgery when deemed too unstable to transfer to a less intensively monitored unit.

History

Modern intensive care originated during the 1952 polio epidemic in Denmark. With a mortality rate of around 87%, the first intensive care unit was born. The term "intensive care" was first mentioned in 1958 by an anesthesiologist named Peter Safar, who is considered the father of modern resuscitation.

Types of Intensive Care Units

There are several types of ICUs, each designed to treat different categories of conditions. These include:

• Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
• Neurological Intensive Care Unit (NeuroICU)
• Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU)

See Also

• Critical Care Nursing
• Emergency Medicine
• Pulmonology
• Anesthesiology

References

Intensive Resources
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