Intensive care units (ICUs) are specialist hospital wards that provide treatment and monitoring for people who are very ill. They're staffed with specially trained healthcare professionals and contain sophisticated monitoring equipment.
ICU patients often require mechanical ventilation if they have lost the ability to breathe normally.
Intensive care units cater to patients with severe or life-threatening illnesses and injuries, which require constant care, close supervision from life support equipment and medication in order to ensure normal bodily functions. They are staffed by highly trained physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists who specialize in caring for critically ill patients. ICUs are also distinguished from general hospital wards by a higher staff-to-patient ratio and access to advanced medical resources and equipment that is not routinely available elsewhere. Common conditions that are treated within ICUs include acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and other life-threatening conditions.
