Description

preface

It is with great pleasure that we present the fi rst text-
book that focuses on the intersection of critical care and

emergency medicine.
For the sickest patients the quality of the interface
between the emergency department and the intensive
care unit can literally mean the difference between life
and death. As we have seen with early goal-directed

therapy and postarrest hypothermia treatment, aggres-
sive care delivered appropriately in the emergency

department has been shown to decrease mortality and
morbidity for critically ill patients.
Additionally, hospital overcrowding, coupled with
hospital closings and an aging patient population, has

resulted in a nearly 60% increase in the number of criti-
cal care patients treated in the emergency department.

Increasingly, these patients are boarded for longer
periods in the emergency department presenting the
emergency physician with continuing care challenges
that have been traditionally managed in an intensive
care unit.
This book hopes to address the challenges faced
by emergency medicine physicians practicing critical
care on the front lines of health care on a daily basis.
It is written for emergency physicians who wish to
improve their knowledge base and the quality of
the care they deliver. This text provides a primer on

acute resuscitative care as well as continued critical
care monitoring and management. Most of chapters
are written by an emergency physician with critical
care training or with an abiding interest in critical
care. The majority of chapters are also coauthored
by a fellowship-trained intensivist with a background

in surgery, internal medicine, or emergency medi-
cine. We are very thankful for the time, patience, and

thoughtful work contributed generously by each of
the authors.
Lastly, the editors would like to express their deep

gratitude to the entire staff at McGraw-Hill and in par-
ticular to our Executive Medical Editor, Anne M. Sydor,

PhD. Anne’s vision, persistence, patience, and guiding
hand were essential in bringing this book to reality.
It literally would not have been possible without the
editorial resuscitation and critical care she provided so
generously. Thank you.
David A. Farcy, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, FCCM
William C. Chiu, MD, FACS, FCCM
Alex Flaxman, MD, MSE
John P. Marshall, MD, FACEP