Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine PDF

Preface

Infectious disease aspects of critical care have changed much since the first edition was published in 1998. Infectious diseases are ever present and are becoming important in critical care. Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine (third edition) remains the only book exclusively dedicated to infectious diseases in critical care.

Importantly, Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine (third edition) is written from the infectious disease perspective by clinicians for clinicians who deal with infectious diseases in critical care. The infectious disease perspective is vital in the clinical diagnostic approach to noninfectious and infectious disease problems encountered in critical care. The third edition of this book is not only completely updated but includes new topics that have become important in infectious diseases in critical care since the publication of the second edition.

The hallmark of clinical excellence in infectious disease consultation is the diagnostic experience and expertise of the infectious disease consultant. The clinical approach should not be to arrive at a diagnosis by ordering a bewildering number of clinically irrelevant tests hoping for clues from abnormal findings. The optimal differential diagnostic approach depends on the infectious disease consultant carefully analyzing the history, physical findings, and pertinent nonspecific laboratory tests in critically ill patients to focus diagnostic efforts. Before a definitive diagnosis is made, the infectious disease consultant's role as diagnostician is to correctly interpret and correlate nonspecific laboratory tests in the correct clinical context, which should prompt specific laboratory testing to rule in or rule out the most likely diagnostic possibilities. As subspecialist consultants, infectious disease clinicians are excellent diagnosticians. For this reason, infectious disease consultation is of vital importance for all but the most straightforward infectious disease problems encountered in critical care.

Another distinguishing characteristic of infectious disease clinicians is that they are both diagnostically and therapeutically focused. Many noninfectious disease clinicians often tend to empirically "cover" patients with an excessive number of antibiotics to provide coverage against a wide range of unlikely pathogens. Currently, most of resistance problems in critical care units result from not appreciating the resistance potential of some commonly used antibiotics in many multidrug regimens, such as ciprofloxaxin, imipenem, and ceftazidime. Some contend this approach is defensible because with antibiotic "deescalation" the unnecessary antibiotics can be discontinued subsequently. Unfortunately, except for culture results from blood isolates cultures with skin/soft tissue infections, or cerebrospinal fluid with meningitis, usually there are no subsequent microbiologic data upon which to base antibiotic deescalation, such as nosocomial pneumonia, abscesses, and intra-abdominal/pelvic infections. The preferred infectious disease approach is to base initial empiric therapy or covering the most likely pathogens rather than clinically unlikely pathogens. Should diagnostically valid data become available, a change in antimicrobial therapy may or may not be warranted on the basis of new information.

Because infectious disease consultation is so important in the differential diagnostic approach in critical care, this book's emphasis is on differential diagnosis. If the diagnosis is inaccurate/incorrect, empiric therapy will necessarily be incorrect. To assist those taking care of critically ill patients, chapters on physical exam clues and their mimics, ophthalmologic clues and their mimics in infectious disease, and radiologic clues and their mimics in infectious disease have been included in this edition. In addition, several chapters notably, "Clinical Approach to Fever'' and ‘‘Fever and Rash," also emphasize on physical findings.

Since the last edition, some infectious diseases, such as Clostridium difficile diarrhea/ colitis, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), HPS (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome), avian influenza (H5N1), and swine influenza (H1N1) have become important in critical care medicine.

Another important topic has been added on infections related to immunomodulating/ immunosuppressive agents. The widespread introduction of immune modulation therapy has resulted in a recrudescence of many infections due to intracellular pathogens, which are important to recognize in patients receiving these agents. Because miliary tuberculosis is so important and is not an infrequent complication of steroid/immunosuppressive therapy, a chapter on this topic also has been included in the third edition.

As mentioned, antibiotic resistance in the critical care unit is a continuing problem with short- and long-term clinical consequences. Currently, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcos aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci are the most important gram-positive pathogens in critical care, and a chapter has been added on antibiotic therapy of these pathogens. Among the multidrug-resistant aerobic gram-negative bacilli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii continue to be difficult therapeutic problems, and a chapter has been included on this important topic.

The contributors to the third edition of Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine are nationally or internationally acknowledged experts in their respective fields. The authors have been selected for their clinical excellence and experience. They are teacher-clinicians also known for their ability to effectively distill the key points related to their topics.

The third edition is not just a compendium of current guidelines. Guidelines are not definitive and for this reason often change over time. Guideline followers may not agree with this book's clinical approach which is evidence based, but tempered by clinical experience. Especially in critical care, the key determinant of optimal patient care is experienced based clinical judgment which the clinician contributors have provided.

In summary, the this edition is both up-to-date and better than ever. Now in its third edition, Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine, written by clinicians for clinicians, remains the only major text exclusively dealing with the major infectious disease syndromes encountered in critical care medicine.