Critical care clinics
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Submersion accidents continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adults. The key to successful management is prevention of these accidents. Proactive efforts to minimize submersion accidents in the community should be made by medical and legislative groups. ⋯ Despite aggressive care, neurologic injury with long-term sequelae secondary to hypoxic ischemic injury remains a major problem in the management of victims of submersion accidents. It is important for the clinician to keep the pathophysiologic and cellular mechanisms of CNS injury in mind, because future interventions are likely to be based on these pathways. Besides providing care for the patient, it is important for the ICU physician to be sensitive to the needs of the family and to support them through this catastrophe that is likely to place a tremendous financial and emotional burden on most of them.
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The majority of clinicians will encounter patients with heat-related illness in one form or the other. Early recognition and management are important to prevent morbidity and mortality. In children and elderly, the clinical signs may be subtle and in such situations a sound knowledge of heat-related illnesses is crucial. Besides diagnosing and treating heat-related illnesses, it is equally important to know how to prevent them as they are easily preventable.
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Individuals at extremes of age and those who have certain underlying medical conditions are at greatest risk for hypothermia. Hypothermia may occur during any season of the year and in any climate. Prompt recognition of hypothermia and early institution of the rewarming techniques are imperative for a successful outcome with minimal complications. Several rewarming techniques are available and the decision to use any of them depends on the degree of hypothermia, the condition of the patient, and the rewarming rate possible with the technique chosen.
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Envenomations are uncommon, challenging causes of critical care admissions. This article describes the diagnosis and treatment of envenomations that cause the most critical care admissions in the United States. Most are caused by the following animals: rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, coral snakes, brown recluse spiders, and bark scorpions.
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The major physiologic stress encountered at high altitude is caused by the occurrence of hypobaric hypoxia. In this article, acute and chronic pulmonocardiac adaptation to altitude is reviewed, including possible genetic differences among highlanders from the Himalayan versus the Andean Mountains. The origin, symptoms, and treatment of acute mountain sickness and high altitude pulmonary edema are outlined. In addition, the prediction and prevention of pulmonary complications that may be encountered or exacerbated during commercial airflight are noticed.