This issue covers the full gamut of infectious disease issues encountered in the ICU, including the approach to the febrile patient, management of septic shock, severe community-acquired pneumonia, management of ventilator-associated pneumonia, approach to the immunocompromised host, bloodstream infection, severe soft tissue infections, management of intra-abdominal sepsis, meningitis and brain abscess, treatment of fungal infections, acute infective endocarditis, new antimicrobial agents, antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and C. difficile infection.

The importance of accurately diagnosing nosocomial infections and providing appropriate therapies, including antimicrobial therapy effective against the identified agents of infection, have been shown to be important determinants of patient outcome. Critical care practitioners are in a unique position to deal with infectious diseases, as they are often the initial providers of care to seriously ill patients with infections. Additionally, they have a responsibility to insure that nosocomial infections are prevented and that antimicrobial resistance is minimised by employing antibiotic agents prudently. It is our hope that this textbook will provide clinicians practising in the intensive care unit with a reference to help guide their care of infected patients. To that end we have brought together a group of international authors to address important topics related to infectious diseases for the critical care practitioner. Critical Care Infectious Diseases should become an advanced standard reference work in the field of infectious diseases and intensive care medicine. The content is original and the first of its kind in this area. It is a reference work for those physicians who care daily for critically ill patients suffering from infectious complications. Residents and other specialists interested in focused problems will benefit from the wide spectrum of information provided in this book. Infectious control practitioners and nurses will also benefit from this collection by recognised experts who work with specific aspects of infectious disease problems in the critically ill patient. Critical Care Infectious Diseases includes seven sections addressing the following topics: specificmicrobiologic and pharmacologic considerations, epidemiology/infection control in the ICU, anti-infective therapy in the critically ill patient, severe respiratory infections, intra-abdominal infections, severe skin/soft tissue infections, catheter-related infections, and other infectious syndromes frequently seen in the intensive care unit.