title: Critical care medicine update: essentials for the nonintensivist, part 1.
abstract: The intensive care unit (ICU) can be a challenging environment for health care practitioners who are not trained in critical care medicine. A structured approach to patient care is necessary in order to achieve optimal clinical outcomes. The purpose of this two-part article is to review essential highlights of critical care medicine for the nonintensivist. We provide a structured overview of the management of the critically ill patient and focus on problems commonly encountered in the heterogeneous ICU patient population. In Part 1 we review (a) altered states of consciousness and sedation, (b) respiratory failure and ventilators, (c) cardiovascular monitoring and management, and (d) fluid and electrolyte disorders.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Chandra K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Katikireddy
authors.forename: Ware G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Kuschner
mesh_terms: D001928:Brain Diseases, Metabolic / Q000139:chemically induced; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D003243:Consciousness / Q000187:drug effects; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000379:methods; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy; D012769:Shock / Q000503:physiopathology; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives