Clin Med
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The possibility for one generation to eradicate a disease is very motivating. It is also very difficult. ⋯ The early stages of a well-planned eradication campaign generally go well; it is the last stage where technical, biological, social and political problems occur. This paper considers the opportunities and pitfalls in planning for eradication of a disease.
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Historical Article
Intensive care medicine is 60 years old: the history and future of the intensive care unit.
Intensive care is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The concept arose from the devastating Copenhagen polio epidemic of 1952, which resulted in hundreds of victims experiencing respiratory and bulbar failure. ⋯ By 1953, Bjorn Ibsen, the anaesthetist who had suggested that positive pressure ventilation should be the treatment of choice during the epidemic, had set up the first intensive care unit (ICU) in Europe, gathering together physicians and physiologists to manage sick patients - many would consider him to be the 'father' of intensive care. Here, we discuss the events surrounding the 1952 polio epidemic, the subsequent development of ICUs throughout the UK, the changes that have occurred in intensive care over the past 10 years and what the future holds for the specialty.