Intensive Care Unit (ICU) refers to a place where specialized treatment is given to patients who are acutely unwell and need special attention and support. It provides critical care and life support for acutely ill and injured patients.

he ICU is a special area of the hospital where the focus is on intense observation and treatment with increased staff and resources. This helps healthcare providers to respond immediately during emergency conditions. The trained doctors and nurses with the help of a multi-disciplinary team makes sure that the critical patient recovers rapidly and goes home. Patient who needs close monitoring and treatment are admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Some examples of patients needing ICU care include:

• Patients with difficulty in breathing needing special machines called, ventilators
• Patients with low blood pressure needing monitoring and medicines to treat it
• Patients with infections causing septic shock
• Patients who need close observation after certain surgeries, such as brain surgery, heart bypass and trauma surgery.

ICU is a place where patients are monitored acutely. ICU patients are monitored and treated by critical care team which include critical care specialists (intensivists), resident doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc. Other staff at ICU include dieticians, physiotherapists, clinical pharmacists and other supportive staff like cleaning staff, security guards, etc. Fortunately, modern technology has progressed a lot and we can get intricate details of a patient’s vital parameters like heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen level and blood pressure. This is done by making use of multiple devices with numerous wires that are seen, which are constantly monitoring the patient.

An intensivist is a trained super specialist in critical care medicine after completion of his/her advanced degrees in Anesthesiology/Internal Medicine/Pulmonology. Also called the critical care specialists, they are responsible for the patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Major decisions are taken by Intensivist after discussion with the primary and referral consultants. Daily family meetings are done to brief the patient’s attendants about their health condition and work collaboratively on the plan of care. The Intensivist holds senior responsibility of the Unit and the other healthcare professionals work in coordination with her or him.