Intensive Care its Nature and Problems

Abstract

“Intensive care” or “critical care” is a relatively new medical development. Because of its special characteristics and high costs, we tend to consider intensive care as a different kind of medicine. Nevertheless, the basic problems and the type of decisions doctors confront in this area have been always part of medical practice, especially during exceptional circumstances such as war or natural catastrophes. Perhaps, what gives to intensive care its special connotation is the fact that what used to be exceptional in traditional medicine, has become part of the daily routine at intensive care units (ICU’s). Furthermore we feel that the complexity of medical practice in an intensive care environment, the physical and emotional strains imposed on the staff, and the relevance of the individual and social elements related to intensive care, deserve a greater attention from both the medical community and the community at large^r. In this review of certain aspects of intensive care we will attempt to: 1) characterize its technical and anthropological dimensions; and 2) define the nature of decision-making involved in this kind of care. In addition, we will propose actions aimed at improving the quality of the decision-making process, thus helping those involved.