The fifth edition of this essential text provides a comprehensive overview of working in intensive care. Written for critical care nurses practising at Level 3, it is fully updated to ensure the evidence base is up to date and the content reflects contemporary best practice.

Intensive Care Nursing covers patient-focused issues of bedside nursing; the technical knowledge necessary to care safely for ICU patients; the more common and specialised disease processes and treatments encountered; and how nurses can use their knowledge and skills to develop their own and others' practice. This feature includes all-new chapters on maternal critical care and principles of pharmacology for intensive care nursing. The chapters include numerous pedagogical features to aid readers in transferring their learning, such as boxes highlighting implications for practice, further reading sections, and clinical scenarios with questions.

Intensive Care Nursing is essential reading for student and qualified nurses and allied health professionals working with critically ill patients, particularly those undertaking post-registration training in the area.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Contexts of Care

1. Nursing Perspectives and the Humanistic Approach

2. Principles of Pharmacology

3. Psychological Care

Part 2: Fundamental

4. Artificial Ventilation

5. Airway Management

6. Sedation

7. Acute Pain Management

8. Thermoregulation

9. Nutrition and Bowel Care

10. Mouthcare

11. Eyecare

12. Tissue Viability

13. Children in Adult ICUs

14. Older Patients in the ICU

15. Infection Prevention and Control

16. Epidemics and Pandemics

Part 3: Monitoring

17. Respiratory Monitoring

18. Gas Carriage

19. Blood Gas Interpretation

20. Haemodynamic Monitoring

21. Blood Results

22. ECGs and Dysrhythmias

23. Neurological Monitoring

Part 4: Micropathologies

24. Cellular Pathology

25. Immunity and Immunodeficiency

26. Haemostasis

Part 5: Respiratory

27. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

28. Alternative Ventilation

Part 6: Cardiovascular

29. Acute Coronary Syndromes

30. Cardiac Surgery and Interventions

31. Shock

32. Sepsis

33. Fluid Management

34. Inotropes and Vasopressors

35. Vascular Surgery

Part 7: Neurological

36. Central Nervous System Injury

37. Peripheral Neurological Pathologies

Part 8: Abdominal

38. Acute Kidney Injury

39. Haemofiltration

40. Gastrointestinal Bleeds

41. Liver Failure

42. Maternal Critical Care

43. Organ Donation

Part 9: Metabolic

44. Severe Acute Pancreatitis

45. Diabetic Crises

46. Self-poisoning

Part 10: Professional

47. Transferring Critically Ill Patients

48. Professional Perspectives

49. Managing the ICU

50. Costs of Intensive Care

This comprehensive and clinically-focused textbook is designed for student and qualified nurses concerned with caring effectively for deteriorating and acutely ill adults outside of specialist intensive care units. Divided into six sections, the book begins with chapters on assessment and the deteriorating patient, including monitoring vital signs and interpreting blood results. This is followed by two sections focusing on breathing and cardiovascular problems respectively. Section 4 explores issues around disability and impairment, including chapters on neurology, pain management, psychological needs and thermoregulation. The penultimate section looks at maintaining the internal environment, with chapters on issues such as nutrition, fluid management and infection control. The text ends with a discussion of legal issues and accountability. Nursing Acutely Ill Adults includes a full range of pedagogical features, including sections: identifying fundamental knowledge; highlighting implications for practice; giving further reading and resources; using case scenarios to help readers relate theory to practice; and providing 'time out' exercises. It is the ideal textbook for students taking modules in caring for critically ill adults and qualified nurses working with these patients.

Level 2 (highly dependent) patients are nursed in a variety of clinical areas. High Dependency Nursing Care has been written for pre qualified and post qualified students undertaking modules and placements to prepare them for nursing the acutely ill and nurses caring for these patients. Written by a team of nurses experienced in providing, supporting and developing high dependency care, it discusses practical issues and explores the current evidence base for clinical practice.

This essential textbook covers the context of care with chapters on fundamental aspects, such as sleep, nutrition, pain management and stress. It goes on to look at the main causes of critical illness and the treatments often given, as well as the skills necessary for monitoring patients. Completely updated throughout, this second edition also includes new chapters on infection control, heart failure, tissue removal and transferring the sicker patient.

High Dependency Nursing Care is:

Comprehensive: it covers all the key areas of knowledge needed

User-friendly: it includes learning outcomes, introductions, time out exercises, implications for practice, useful websites and up-to-date references

Clearly written: by a team of experienced nurses

Practically based: clinical scenarios provide stimulating discussion and revision topics

Level 2 (highly dependent) patients are nursed in a variety of clinical areas. High Dependency Nursing Care has been written for pre qualified and post qualified students undertaking modules and placements to prepare them for nursing the acutely ill and nurses caring for these patients. Written by a team of nurses experienced in providing, supporting and developing high dependency care, it discusses practical issues and explores the current evidence base for clinical practice.

This essential textbook covers the context of care with chapters on fundamental aspects, such as sleep, nutrition, pain management and stress. It goes on to look at the main causes of critical illness and the treatments often given, as well as the skills necessary for monitoring patients. Completely updated throughout, this second edition also includes new chapters on infection control, heart failure, tissue removal and transferring the sicker patient.

High Dependency Nursing Care is:

Comprehensive: it covers all the key areas of knowledge needed

User-friendly: it includes learning outcomes, introductions, time out exercises, implications for practice, useful websites and up-to-date references

Clearly written: by a team of experienced nurses

Practically based: clinical scenarios provide stimulating discussion and revision topics

This comprehensive and clinically-focused textbook is designed for student and qualified nurses concerned with caring effectively for deteriorating and acutely ill adults outside of specialist intensive care units. Divided into six sections, the book begins with chapters on assessment and the deteriorating patient, including monitoring vital signs and interpreting blood results. This is followed by two sections focusing on breathing and cardiovascular problems respectively. Section 4 explores issues around disability and impairment, including chapters on neurology, pain management, psychological needs and thermoregulation. The penultimate section looks at maintaining the internal environment, with chapters on issues such as nutrition, fluid management and infection control. The text ends with a discussion of legal issues and accountability. Nursing Acutely Ill Adults includes a full range of pedagogical features, including sections: identifying fundamental knowledge; highlighting implications for practice; giving further reading and resources; using case scenarios to help readers relate theory to practice; and providing 'time out' exercises. It is the ideal textbook for students taking modules in caring for critically ill adults and qualified nurses working with these patients.