Cardiovascular Pediatric Critical Illness and Injury (PDF)

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 development of pediatric cardiac surgical programs has had a profound effect on the specialty of pediatric critical care medicine, and as a result, the field of pediatric cardiac intensive care is rapidly emerging as a separate subspecialty of pediatric critical care medicine. The ability to provide care for the critically ill child with congenital heart disease clearly separates pediatric intensivists from our adult colleagues. Cardiovascular Pediatric Critical Illness and Injury has been written by an international panel of experts to give readers a thorough understanding and knowledge of the unique physiology of the child with congenital heart disease. This book is therefore absolutely crucial for anyone working in the pediatric intensive care unit, from physicians, residents and fellows in critical care, pulmonology, cardiology and pediatricians to specialist nurses and support personnel on the pediatric intensive care unit and all medical professionals that are involved in the management of these patients.