Multidisciplinary care of the obese patient with chronic critical illness after surgery.
The surgical patient with prolonged critical illness usually has a higher severity of illness on ICU admission, and is destined for greater morbidity, debilitation, and poorer hospital and long-term survival. Care of those with obesity is particularly difficult. Only with meticulous attention to detail and refined, dedicated, multidisciplinary processes of care, preferably assisted by protocolization, can these patients sustain any hope of recovery to acceptable functionality.
Department of Nursing and Surgery, New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Box 4630, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Snasraway@lifespan.org
Stanley A
SA
Nasraway
Therese M
TM
Hudson-Jinks
Ruth M
RM
Kelleher
D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D015897:Comorbidity; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D019091:Critical Pathways; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D009732:Nursing Care; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012121:Respiration, Artificial