This is the first bedside pocket reference ever published in evidence-based Critical Care Medicine. It is designed to act as a complement to and precede the forthcoming, larger shelf reference by Zaloga and Marik on Evidence-Based Critical Care Medicine. Its purpose will be to provide easy access to clinical data which is crucial in therapeutic decision-making. This approach will enable the clinician to quickly review the information which will support or refute an intervention and choose the most appropriate, cost-effective treatment. The analysis of treatment strategies will be presented by organ-systems, and there will be miscellaneous ICU topics (eg: severity of illness scoring systems, nutrition, toxicology, infection) covered. The selection of these topics will be based on the most frequently found and difficult to solve problems in ICU patient management.

Contents: Introduction.- Daily ICU Management / THE RESPITORY SYSTEM.- Airway management: endotracheal intubation.- Non invasive positive pressure ventilation.- Mechanical ventilation 101.- Weaning/liberation from mechanical ventilation.- Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.- Acute severe asthma.- Severe community-acquired pneumonia.- Aspiration syndromes.- ARDS Thromboembolism in the ICU.- Bronchoscopy.- Chest Physiotherapy.-The Chest Radiograph / THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM.- Fluid and pressor resusitation.- Assessment of intravascular volumue and cardiac performance: pulmonary artery catheterization and Esophageal Doppler monitoring.- Supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias.- Hypertensive emergencies.- Management of the patient with unstable angina/Non q-wave myocardial infarction.- The management of cardiac failure in the ICU.- Cardiopulmonary resusitation / THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT.- Stress Ulcer prophylaxis.- Management of GI Bleeding.- Pancreatitus.- Liver failure and jaunidice / RENAL AND METABOLIC.