ICUs are hospital wards with specialized staff, equipment, and standards. An ICU may also be called a critical care unit (CCU) or intensive therapy unit (ITU).
Intensive care unit purpose. An ICU handles severe, potentially life-threatening cases. People who are in a serious accident, undergo major surgery, or have a sudden decline in health may get treatment from an ICU.
Requirements for admission into an ICU. Patients with potential or current organ failure are prime candidates for ICU care. Other factors that will determine who is or is not admitted to the ICU include:
Diagnosis
Illness severity
Prognosis and anticipated quality of life
Treatment availability
Response to treatment so far
An ICU doctor will also consider the patient’s age, coexisting conditions, physiological reserve, and personal wishes.
When is intensive care needed? ICU staff are called when a patient’s condition meets certain criteria. These criteria include:
An obstructed or threatened airway
Respiratory arrest
A respiratory rate between 8 and 40 breaths per minute
Cardiac arrest
A pulse that’s less than 40 or greater than 140 beats per minute
Repeated or extended seizures
If the patient gives these or another cause for concern, they may receive intensive care.
The basics of IC care include thoroughly monitoring the patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, blood oxygen levels, urinary output, and temperature.
Typical equipment in an ICU. Along with the equipment needed to monitor the factors listed above, other equipment in the ICU can include:
What should I do before being admitted to the ICU?
Admission to ICU is often unexpected. An example is when you are critically injured in a car accident.
Some people know they will be admitted to the ICU. For instance, it is often normal for someone to go to ICU in the early stages of recovery after major surgery.
People with serious or advanced diseases might expect to be admitted to an ICU at some time. This could happen if your condition gets worse suddenly.
In both these cases, you have time to consider getting an advance care plan beforehand.
Advance care planning
The goal of intensive care is to return you to a quality of life that is acceptable to you. It is important to discuss 'goals of care' as early as possible.
An advance care plan is a valuable document for both your family and the ICU staff. It lists your specific wishes about treatment and life support.
An advance care plan is valuable when you are too sick to speak for yourself.
With an advance care plan, you can specify exactly which treatments you would and wouldn't like to receive. For example, you might want to have antibiotics in the case that you get pneumonia, but you wouldn't want to be placed on a ventilator or to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). You can still be admitted to the ICU even if you only want to have some of the treatments that are offered there.
You can discuss advance care plans with your doctor. Sometimes, the doctors will discuss a plan with you when you are admitted to hospital.
You can change your mind at any time about any of the details of your advance care plan.
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