Critical Care Medicine: Frequently Asked Questions
Critical care medicine deals with life support or organ support for patients who are critically ill. A critical care physician diagnoses, treats, and supports patients who may be in an intensive care unit, or who may have multiple organ dysfunction. Patients who receive intensive care treatment are usually critically ill patients who are treated after major surgery and require intensive monitoring. The critical care or intensive care physician may also communicate with the patient’s primary physician, other specialists, and the critical care staff to coordinate treatment and care.
Critical Care Medicine Doctors may treat any of the following conditions...
- Acute Lung Syndrome
- Cystic fibrosis
- Kidney Failure
- Liver Failure
Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including endotracheal tube, mechanical ventilation, tracheotomy, ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), adial arterial catheterization, establishing central venous access, and passage of pulmonary arterial balloon flotation catheters.
To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, critical care medicine doctors will often perform one of many tests including Blood Test, Computed Axial Tomography (CT or CAT Scan), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).
