Intensive and Critical Care Medicine

This critical care textbook comes from the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine, an organization founded in 1974 by a group of critical care pioneers. Today, this organization numbers more than 50 member societies and represents more than 50 000 professionals involved in critical care worldwide. The aim of the federation is to promote the highest standards of intensive and critical care medicine without discrimination.

The book is divided into 12 sections, a number of which are unique to a critical and intensive care textbook. This text focuses on several areas of critical care medicine currently at the forefront of discussions regarding the provision of high-quality critical care medicine. The book begins by discussing professionalism, the ethics of decision making, and the role of evidence-based medicine. It is unique in that it likewise presents tenets for quality improvement measures in critical care. The role of clinical governance—a system of accountability for quality improvement—is laid out in detail along with recommendations for individual intensive care departments.