Principles of Critical Care eBook

Most of the developments in perioperative medicine the 20th century were focused on the establishment of standard monitors, biomarkers, and outcomes measures for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, with marked improvements in perioperative safety. The fields of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine have now shifted to the consideration of the nervous system. Complications such as delirium, cognitive decline, anesthetic neurotoxicity, stroke and other devastating nervous system events are only now developing significant scientific and clinical attention. Yet there has been no single reference to serve as a guide for the clinician or the investigator in this area. This book fills this gap in perioperative medicine literature and provides a concise yet thorough overview of adverse outcomes involving the brain, spine, and peripheral nerves. Rather than being organized by type of operation, each chapter in this resource is devoted to a specific adverse outcome. Every outcome is reviewed in an easy-to-follow format that includes an introduction to the clinical problem, a section on incidence, prevalence, and outcomes, an assessment of risk factors, discussions of preventive strategies, treatment, and current recommendations, a conclusion, and references.  Read more…