Acute Crit Care.  2021 Feb;36(1):22-28. 10.4266/acc.2020.00521.

Critical emergency medicine and the resuscitative care unit

• Mermiri M
• Mavrovounis G
• Chatzis D
• Mpoutsikos I
• Tsaroucha A
• Dova M
• Angelopoulou Z
• Ragias D
• Chalkias A
• Pantazopoulos I

• KMID: 2513250
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2020.00521

Abstract

Critical emergency medicine is the medical field concerned with management of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED). Increased ED stay due to intensive care unit (ICU) overcrowding has a negative impact on patient care and outcome. It has been proposed that implementation of critical care services in the ED can negate this effect. Two main Critical Emergency Medicine models have been proposed, the “resource intensivist” and “ED-ICU” models. The resource intensivist model is based on constant presence of an intensivist in the traditional ED setting, while the ED-ICU model encompasses the notion of a separate ED-based unit, with monitoring and therapeutic capabilities similar to those of an ICU. Critical emergency medicine has the potential to improve patient care and outcome; however, establishment of evidence-based protocols and a multidisciplinary approach in patient management are of major importance.

Keyword

critical care; emergency department; emergency service; intensive care unit; postgraduate training

Figure

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  Figure 1. Non-intensive care unit (non-ICU) critical care models. RRS: rapid response system; MET: medical emergency team; ED-ICU: emergency department-integrated intensive care unit.

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