Science and Practice of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

About this book

The field of critical care medicine is in the midst of a dramatic change. Technological and scientific advances during the last decade have resulted in a fundamental change in the way we view disease processes, such as sepsis, shock, acute lung injury, and traumatic brain injury. Pediatric intensivists have been both witness to and active participants in bringing about these changes and it is imperative that all physicians caring for critically ill children in this new era have a thorough understanding of the applicability of these modern developments to the care of patients at the bedside and to keep up with the rapidly evolving field of critical care medicine.

The care of critically ill and injured children needs to be safe, evidence-based, equitable, efficient, timely, and family-centered. Science and Practice of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine discusses these changes in the specialty in greater scope and detail, offering the reader fresh insight into not only where we came from, but also where we are going as a specialty. Thus, this book is designed for all involved in the management of the pediatric critically ill patient, from physicians, residents and fellows in critical care, pulmonology, cardiology and pediatricians to specialist nurses and support personnel on the pediatric critical care unit and all medical professionals that are involved in the management of these patients.

Written for: Clinicians and students of critical care, all who work with children on pediatric intensive care or general wards

Table of contents

Development of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine – How Did We Get Here and Why?, Epidemiology of Critical Illness, Ethics in the PICU, The Patient’s Family in the PICU, Scoring Systems in Critical Care, Outcomes and Quality: Definitions, Assessment, and Analysis, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Administration, Nursing Care in the PICU, The Physician-Scientist In The PICU, Resident And Nurse Education In The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Evidence-based Medicine in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Patient Safety in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Critical Care in Developing Countries, The PICU of the Future, Molecular Biology in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Genetic Polymorphisms in Critical Care and Illness, Signal Transduction Pathways in Critical Illness and Injury, Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators in critical illness, Endogenous cytoprotective mechanisms, Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury