It is with great pleasure that we present the fi rst textbook that
focuses on the intersection of critical care and emergency medicine.
For the sickest patients the quality of the interface
between the emergency department and the intensive care unit can literally
mean the difference between life and death. As we have seen with early
goal-directed therapy and postarrest hypothermia treatment, aggressive care
delivered appropriately in the emergency department has been shown to
decrease mortality and morbidity for critically ill patients.
Additionally, hospital overcrowding, coupled with hospital
closings and an aging patient population, has resulted in a nearly 60%
increase in the number of critical care patients treated in the emergency
department. Increasingly, these patients are boarded for longer periods in
the emergency department presenting the emergency physician with continuing
care challenges that have been traditionally managed in an intensive care
unit.
This book hopes to address the challenges
faced by emergency medicine physicians practicing critical care on the front
lines of health care on a daily basis. It is written for emergency
physicians who wish to improve their knowledge base and the quality of the
care they deliver. This text provides a primer on acute resuscitative care
as well as continued critical care monitoring and management. Most of
chapters are written by an emergency physician with critical care training
or with an abiding interest in critical care. The majority of chapters are
also coauthored by a fellowship-trained intensivist with a background in
surgery, internal medicine, or emergency medicine. We are very thankful for
the time, patience, and thoughtful work contributed generously by each of
the authors.
Lastly, the editors would like to
express their deep gratitude to the entire staff at McGraw-Hill and in
particular to our Executive Medical Editor, Anne M. Sydor, PhD. Anne's
vision, persistence, patience, and guiding hand were essential in bringing
this book to reality. It literally would not have been possible without the
editorial resuscitation and critical care she provided so generously. Thank
you.
David A. Farcy, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, FCCM
William C. Chiu, MD, FACS, FCCM
Alex Flaxman, MD, MSE
John P. Marshall, MD, FACEP