Surviving critical illness is not always the happy ending we imagine for patients. Many ICU survivors suffer from a range of long-lasting physical and psychological issues such end stage renal disease, congestive heart failure, cognitive impairment, neuromuscular weakness, and depression or anxiety, which affect their overall quality of life and ability to lead productive lives. This lingering burden or 'legacy' of critical illness is now recognized as a major public health issue, with major efforts underway to understand how it can be prevented, mitigated, or treated. The Textbook of Post-ICU Medicine: The Legacy of Critical Care discusses the science of the recovery process and the innovative treatment regimens which are helping ICU survivors regain function as they heal following trauma or disease. Describing the major clinical syndromes affecting ICU survivors, the book delineates established or postulated biological mechanisms of the post-acute recovery process, and discusses strategies for treatment and rehabilitation to promote recovery in the ICU and in the long term. The chapters are written by an interdisciplinary panel of leading clinicians and researchers working in the field. The book serves as a unique reference for general practitioners, internists and nurses caring for long term ICU survivors as well as specialists in intensive care medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine.

Brain dysfunction is a major clinical problem in intensive care, with potentially debilitating long-term consequences for post-ICU patients of any age. The resulting extended length of stay in the ICU and post-discharge cognitive dysfunction are now recognized as major healthcare burdens. This comprehensive clinical text provides intensivists and neurologists with a practical review of the pathophysiology of brain dysfunction and a thorough account of the diagnostic and therapeutic options available. Initial sections review the epidemiology, outcomes, relevant behavioral neurology and biological mechanisms of brain dysfunction. Subsequent sections evaluate the available diagnostic options and preventative and therapeutic interventions, with a final section on clinical encephalopathy syndromes encountered in the ICU. Each chapter is rich in illustrations, with an executive summary and a helpful glossary of terms. Brain Disorders in Critical Illness is a seminal reference for all physicians and neuroscientists interested in the care and outcome of severely ill patients.