Intensive Care - A Thin Line Between Survival and Dehumanization  (English, Hardcover, Manhas Yogesh)

Intensive care unit (ICU) is a specialised section of the hospital that has all the necessary monitoring and therapeutic equipment as well as a team of skilled professionals who can manage critically ill patients requiring life support. Acute severe illnesses like septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome, heart failure, severe trauma, poisoning and many others that were once considered fatal have good survival with intensive care. While there is no doubt that intensive care save lives, mention of ICU can create a feeling of unease and intimidation among patient and their families. Patients in ICU are socially isolated, sedated, unable to communicate and sometimes restrained. They lose control over their faculties and are dependent on ICU staff which make them vulnerable to dehumanization. Book is an attempt to describe what intensive care is and what can be done to make it meaningful and patient/family friendly.