Trauma Survivors Network - provided by ATS

Survive. Connect. Rebuild.

A Program of the ATS

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Critical Care Unit (CCU) is a specialized facility in a hospital that provides comprehensive care for patients who are critically ill and usually need life support or organ support. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit not requiring life or organ support are usually admitted for continuous monitoring after major surgery. Patients may be admitted directly from the emergency room or from a surgical ward. Health care professionals monitor and treat these patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Intensive Care Unit is staffed by physicians who have received specialized medical training through a fellowhip in critical care. In general, there are two types of physicians who practice in the ICU, trauma surgeons and anesthesiologists. Depending upon whether they were on call for trauma, the trauma surgeon may be the same physician that evaluated the trauma patient when they first arrived at the hospital.

ICUs typically limit the number of visitors to the patient's immediate family even during visiting hours. The patient usually has several bedside monitors, catheters, and intravenous lines attached to various parts of their body to monitor heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level. Some patients may even require a respirator to breathe for them. Once stabilized, patients are transferred either to an intermediary care unit or a general care unit.

The Journal of American Medicine has a page explaining different parts of the ICU at:
Intensive Care Units

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensive_care_medicine