Monitoring the critically ill patient is a practical guide to monitoring acutely ill patients on the general ward. Critically ill patients are increasingly cared for outside intensive care units and all nurses need to be able to accurately monitor critically ill patients in their care. Monitoring the critically ill patient assumes no prior knowledge and equips students and newly qualified staff with the clinical skills and knowledge they need in order to confidently monitor patients at risk, identify key priorities, and provide prompt and effective care. It was developed in response to NHS policies relating to critical care and adopts a system-by-system approach, exploring respiratory function, cardiovascular function, neurological function, renal function, gastrointestinal function, hepatic function, endocrine function, nutritional status, and temperature in turn. This revised and updated second edition includes an additional chapter on outreach, medical emergency teams and early warning scoring systems. A final chapter explores monitoring during transport.

Table of Contents

1. Recognition and Management of the Critically Ill Patient;. 2. Assessment of the Critically Ill Patient;. 3. Monitoring Respiratory Function;. 4. Monitoring Cardiovascular Function 1: ECG Monitoring;. 5. Monitoring Cardiovascular Function 2: Haemodynamic Monitoring;. 6. Monitoring Neurological Function;. 7. Monitoring Renal Function;. 8. Monitoring Gastrointestinal Function;. 9. Monitoring Hepatic Function;. 10. Monitoring Endocrine Function;. 11. Monitoring Nutritional Status;. 12. Monitoring Temperature;. 13. Monitoring During Transport;. 14. Record Keeping

Author Biography

Philip Jevon is a Resuscitation Council UK ALS Instructor at Manor Hospital, Walsall. Beverley Ewens is Formerly Nurse Consultant for Critical Care, Manor Hospital, Walsall.