| Abstrakt: |
The ability to monitor patients continuously, to recognize the significance of changes in monitored variables, and to respond rapidly and appropriately to such changes is fundamental to the successful management of the critically ill. To be effective and safe, such monitoring requires the presence of an adequate number of appropriately trained nursing and medical staff at or near the bedside, and is thus a defining characteristic of the intensive care or high dependency environment. As well as allowing immediate recognition of changes in the patient΄s condition, monitoring techniques can also be used to establish or confirm a diagnosis, to assess the severity of the patient΄s condition, to follow the evolution of the illness, and to assess the response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
