What are the common equipment in a ICU?
How does ICU help a patient against Corona vs a patient on normal life support
Oh it is a very long answer.
Making it short and brief will add more confusion than clarity.
Intensive care is one of the highly specialised branch of medical sciences.
The skill, dedication, eye for the detail, prompt decision making, and ton loads of studying internal medicine and surgery makes it very challenging job as compare to other specialities or super-specialties.
Ideally patients presenting with different emergency or critical conditions once stabilised in ER and initial work up done and established working diagnosis are shifted to ICUs for intensive monitoring. This order of managing a life threatening condition can be made flexible depending on resources and expertise available at that time.
In ICU patients are simply monitored.
They can also be post operative patients.
The first step obviously is to stabilise them following three alphabet Mantra.
ABC
Airway
Breathing
Circulation
Finding the underline cause of the disease/condition/emergency/complaint/Sickness etc., is done simultaneously and is continuous duty of care.
Strict monitoring of vitals like Heart Rate, Heart rhythm, EKG, respiration, SpO2,Blood pressure, Intra Cranial pressure, Blood gas exchange, temperature, level of consciousness, intake/output, dispensing of drugs, Bio chemistry & haematology markers, basic nursing care, Sterility are main requirements that must be meet in a well documented, transparent and traceable (quality control and quality assurance) Standardised practice environment.
To meet all the requirement you need multiple Tools, equipments and skilled work force lead by intensivist and consulting physician/surgeons.
Equipments:
1. Multi-function, digital display monitors (stand alone or central) and probes connected to Patients giving live feed of their Heart rate, EKG, Respiration rate, Oxygen Saturation! invasive or non invasive Blood pressure stats.
2.Ventilators giving diffrent modes of assisted or controlled respiration (invasive or
non-invasive) Can be connected to multiple probes and sensors measuring Gases like CO2 , VIT etc,. Endotracleal tubes, Laryngoscopes, Ambu bags, Pressurised oxygen supply, Oxygen supply monitoring, air Suction connections, bodily secretion aspirator machines and collectors.
3. Comprehensive readily accessible collection of emergency drugs, dressing sets, suturing sets, tracheotomy sets, Catheters, NG tubes, Thoracotomy sets, procedure tables, autoclave, PPEs.
4. IV lines for subclavian, cephalic, internal carotid, Femoral vein access ( circulation), Arterial lines for Invasive BP monitoring, CVP monitors, syringe pumps etc.
The list is endless depending on what kind of ailment or inhjury you are handling.
Corona vs non-corona ICU patient
No difference.
Managing ABC and basic nursing care remains the same.
Only special care for corona patients in strict isolation and no cross contamination.