17 – Mechanical Ventilation
17 Mechanical Ventilation Anja Schneider and Erik Ortmann Introduction Most patients admitted to the cardiothoracic critical care unit will require a form of mechanical ventilation at some point during their…
16 – Sedation and Analgesia
16 Sedation and Analgesia Lachlan Miles and Barbora Parizkova Introduction Analgesia and sedation are ubiquitous in the management of the intubated ICU patient, and attitudes towards them have undergone a…
13 – Blood Products and Transfusion
13 Blood Products and Transfusion Martin Besser Introduction Along with cardiothoracic operating departments, cardiothoracic intensive care units are some of the greatest consumers of blood products in the world; so…
12 – Antibiotics in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit
12 Antibiotics in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit Oana Cole and Olly Allen The modern era of antibiotics starts with the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Since…
11 – Arterial and Venous Catheterisation and Invasive Monitoring
11 Arterial and Venous Catheterisation and Invasive Monitoring Stuart A Gillon , Nicholas A Barrett and Christopher IS Meadows Principles of Vascular Access Vascular catheters are ubiquitous to cardiothoracic critical…
10 – Cardiac Pacing and Defibrillation
10 Cardiac Pacing and Defibrillation Sérgio Barra and Patrick Heck Introduction Patients admitted to a cardiothoracic critical care unit (CCU) are at increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias and severe conduction…
7 – Radiology for Cardiothoracic Intensivists
7 Radiology for Cardiothoracic Intensivists Kristian H Mortensen , Peter A Barry and Deepa Gopalan Introduction Diagnostic imaging of patients in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit (ICU) can pose unique…
9 – Chest Drainage
9 Chest Drainage Alia Noorani and Yasir Abu-Omar Introduction The pleural space is a thin, fluid filled space between the visceral and parietal pleura. In a healthy 70 kg individual,…
8 – Airway Management in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care: Intubation and Tracheostomy
8 Airway Management in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care: Intubation and Tracheostomy Martin John and Christiana Burt The ability to safely secure and manage a definitive airway on the cardiothoracic intensive care…
6 – Microbiology Testing
6 Microbiology Testing A Ruth M Kappeler and Margaret I Gillham Introduction Infections in cardiothoracic intensive care units are common, either as the primary presenting illness as in the case…
