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584 pages, 56 figures, 71 tables
16,5 x 24 cm, hardcover
2009 ISBN
978-3-941468-11-5
The maxim "Primum non nocere" is almost as old as the practice of medicine.
In combination with the principles of beneficence, autonomy and justice, and
whilst keeping in mind the confidence and dignity of the patient, it should
constitute the basis of our behaviours as physicians and nurses.
Since diagnostic and therapeutic interventions have become more complex and
their risk/benefit ratios more difficult to assess, the importance of safety and
quality of care rises. Avoiding the infliction of harm on our patients has moved
into the focus of clinical medicine. Patient safety is now viewed as a priority
even by the Presidency of the European Union.
Physicians in intensive care medicine deal with the most fragile and
dependent human beings, often struggling with multiple co-morbid diseases and
physiological derangements at the limits of survival. These patients are often
reliant on numerous invasive technologies for their survival. Moreover, the
almost universal need for multiple pharmacological interventions - combinations
of which have often never been rigorously tested before - places the critically
ill patients at a very high risk of being harmed by the physician's
interventions.
This book should be read by every manager who has responsibility for the
acutely ill. It is an invaluable educational and reference tool for physicians
and nurses in intensive care medicine and will help to improve the safety and
overall care for critically ill patients.
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