Patients in intensive care unit who are cared by a team of providers may include:

Specially trained nurses

Physicians

Respiratory therapists

Care managers

Physical and occupational therapists

Other providers

Patients who may have a serious illness or injury can be treated in critical care unit or intensive care units.

Patients in the ICU get care round by a specially trained team in the hospital.

Critical care in hospital are appropriately given to patients of every age who are severely ill.

Patients may go to the ICU from the general hospital ward if they become critically ill or from the Emergency Department.

Patients may go to the ICU from the general hospital ward if they become critically ill or from the Emergency Department.

Some common conditions which require critical care:

Heart problems

Lung problems

Organ failure

Brain trauma

Blood infections (sepsis)

Drug-resistant infections

Serious injury (car crash, burns)

After making improvements during a stay in ICU the patients may be moved to the hospital ward or a rehabilitation facility. This means that the patient has improved beyond critical and is in stable condition.

Patients who are suffering from critical illness may need significant time and a lot of rehabilitation therapy to get well properly.

critical care medicine is also known Intensive care medicine, This is a medical specialty which deals with patients who are critically ill and at risk of and are recovering from conditions which are life-threatening.

Critical care provides life support, invasive monitoring techniques, resuscitation, and end-of-life care. Physicians of these specialties are called intensive care physicians and the critical care physicians or intensivists.

Intensive care depends on the multidisciplinary teams which are composed of many different health professionals. Such teams often include doctors, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists, among others. These multidisciplinary teams usually work together in intensive care units (ICUs) within a hospital.

Patients who admitted to the intensive care unit needs more care than the general hospital ward can provide. Indication to admitted a patient in a ICU include sepsis, blood pressure support for cardiovascular instability (hypertension/hypotension), or certain cardiac arrhythmias. Other ICU needs involve ventilator and airway support due to respiratory problems.

Procedures and Treatments

Intensive care treatment takes places usually system-by-system approach. The intensive care consist setting are: cardiovascular system, central nervous system, gastro-intestinal tract (and nutritional condition), hematology, integumentary system, microbiology (including sepsis status), renal (and metabolic), and respiratory system.

Cardiovascular

Temporary cardiac pacing catheters for atrial, ventricular, or dual-chamber pacing

Intra-aortic balloon pumping to stabilize cardiogenic shock

Ventricular assist device to aid in the function of the left ventricle, commonly in patients with advanced heart failure

Gastro-intestinal tracts

Feeding tube for artificial nutrition

Nasogastric intubation used to deliver artificial nutrition

Peritoneal aspiration and lavage to sample fluid.

Renal

Hemofiltration for acute kidney injury

Respiratory

Mechanical ventilation use to assist breathing and oxygenation through an endotracheal tube, tracheotomy or mask.

Thoracentesis used to remove fluid or air in the pleural cavity

Drug

These drugs including but not limited to: Inotropes, sedatives, broad spectrum antibiotics and analgesics.