Adult critical care is all about treating patients under life-threatening conditions. These conditions require continuous monitoring with the highest level of medical care during crucial periods. Established healthcare centres have well-equipped intensive care units (ICUs), which are equipped with advanced medical technology. Specialized healthcare professionals offer acute and critical care in adult nursing, which helps in stabilizing patients. The treatment process in ICUs involves medical, surgical, and nursing interventions, which ensure advanced life support to the patients.
In this guide, we have discussed the most common critical care diagnoses and how healthcare professionals manage critical conditions.
What Are The Common Critical Illness Symptoms?
The symptoms associated with critical illnesses are severe and require immediate medical attention. Common critical illness symptoms include:
- Persistent pain in the chest
- Shortness of breath
- Excessive bleeding
- Unconsciousness
- High fever
It is essential to identify these symptoms early and provide adult critical care to save the lives of patients. For instance, sudden respiratory problems can be a sign of acute respiratory failure. On the other hand, chest pain may point towards cardiac arrest. With early detection and prompt intervention, physicians can offer proper adult critical care to improve the conditions of patients.
Most Common Adult Critical Care Diagnoses
Adult critical care involves managing a wide range of life-threatening conditions. Some of the most common critical care diagnoses are:
Sepsis
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a widespread infection throughout the body. The response of your body to the infection leads to a new problem, where widespread inflammation can cause organ failure. Usually, sepsis is caused due to an infection, and certain people are more susceptible to sepsis.
Traumatic Brain Injury
When the tissues in the brain undergo temporary or permanent damage, it can lead to traumatic brain injury. It requires adult critical care and is usually caused due to a hard impact on the face or the head. Traumatic brain injury can lead to bleeding and swelling of the brain. The symptoms of this condition vary according to the severity of the injury, ranging from unconsciousness to coma. Sporting accidents, falls, automobile accidents, and industrial accidents usually cause traumatic brain injury.
Stroke
Patients suffering strokes are usually treated in critical care units. A stroke is caused due to a sudden interruption to the blood supply to the brain, leading to its damage. Without immediate medical attention, strokes can lead to death.
Ruptured Brain Aneurysm
This is a life-threatening condition where a weakened blood vessel in the brain bursts. It occurs due to the dilation or weakening of the blood vessel walls. It can cause bleeding or an aneurysm burst in the brain, leading to haemorrhage.
Trauma
Patients undergoing trauma often require adult critical care. It is caused by severe physical injuries that require immediate medical attention to prevent bleeding and manage fractures or organ damage. Falls and accidents are some of the common causes of trauma. Incidents of violence like shooting, stabbing, or injuries from blunt objects can also result in trauma.
The nature of trauma depends on the type of injury sustained. For instance, trauma in the head may lead to a traumatic head injury. Trauma in the back or neck may result in the injury of the spinal cord and even paralysis.
Heart Failure
Heart-related emergencies usually require adult critical care. A large number of these patients are admitted to the Cardiac Surgery ICU (CSICU) or the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), while others are treated in the ICU. Heart failure and cardiac arrest are some of the common issues that demand immediate medical attention.
Heart failure is caused when the pumping muscles of the heart weaken and aren’t able to circulate adequate blood around the body.
Respiratory (Lung) Failure
The key function of the lungs in the system is to remove carbon dioxide from the bloodstream and provide oxygen. Respiratory or lung failure may occur when these basic functions are impaired, leading to life-threatening situations.
Pneumonia is one of the common causes of respiratory failure, which is caused due to infection by fungal, bacterial, or viral infections. Severe pneumonia causes severe inflammation of the lungs, leading to a condition called ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). It requires adult critical care since the condition is very serious.
Post-operative Intensive Care
Sometimes, patients require treatments in critical care units after undergoing surgeries. While this is planned in the case of certain treatments like cardiac or vascular surgeries, admission to ICU may not be planned beforehand in other cases. In case a problem arises during the surgery, the patient may require adult critical care. For instance, conditions like low blood pressure, unexpected bleeding, or abnormal heart rhythm may require postoperative intensive care.
Seek Adult Critical Care At Crucial Moments
Adult critical care is essential to manage life-threatening conditions through advanced medical interventions. The critical care units, particularly intensive care units, come with sophisticated technology. With skilled medical professionals offering the highest level of care, reputed hospitals heal patients out of these critical conditions.
At Santokh Hospital, we diagnose critical illness symptoms and treat patients with our advanced technologies. Whether it’s a cardiac arrest, excessive bleeding, or trauma, our competent team of physicians is well-equipped to evaluate your health and recommend the most effective treatment methods for adult critical care. Call us for any kind of medical emergency and let our doctors deliver critical care when every moment counts.