PREFACE.- INTRODUCTION.- DEDICATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.- UNIT 1. ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING IN ICU_Chapter 1.   Monitoring patients: what's new in intensive care setting? -- Chapter 2.   Neurological, pain, sedation and confusion assessment -- Chapter 3.   Respiratory and ventilatory assessment -- Chapter 4.   Cardiovascular assessment and monitoring -- Chapter 5.   Early mobility, skin and pressure ulcer risk assessment -- UNIT 2. BASIC CARE IN ICU_Chapter 6.   The Interventional Patient Hygiene Model -- Chapter 7.   Bed bath, eye, mouth and skin care -- Chapter 9.   Patients' positioning -- Chapter 10. General considerations about infection prevention -- UNIT 3. CARE QUALITY MEASUREMENT: FROM PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TO NURSING SENSITIVE OUTCOMES_Chapter 11. Ventilator Associated Pneumonia and Hospital Acquired Pneumonia prevention -- Chapter 12.  Hospital-Acquired Catheter Related Blood Stream Infection prevention -- Chapter 13. Hospital-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection prevention -- Chapter 14. Deep vein Thrombosis and pulmonary embolism prevention -- Chapter 15. Hospital-acquired injuries: device-related pressure ulcers, falls and restraints -- Chapter 16. Gastrointestinal function: enteral nutrition and bowel management -- Chapter 17. Visiting policies in Intensive Care Unit -- UNIT 4. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES IN INTENSIVE CARE NURSING_Chapter 18. A systemic approach: ABCDE bundle -- Chapter 19. Nurse staffing levels: skill mix and nursing care hours per patient-day -- Chapter 20. Evolutions in ICU nursing.

This book provides essential insights into how the approach to nursing care in ICU patients has markedly changed over recent years. It shows how the focus has progressively moved away from the technical approach that characterized early ICUs to a wider personalization of patient care that also highlights general problems such as basic hygiene and general comfort. It also demonstrates that, at the same time, the nurses' role has become more professionalized, with increasing competences in assessing and managing patients' problems and measuring related outcomes. It is structured in four units: Unit 1 presents the essential elements of accurate vital-function and basic-needs assessments for ICU patients, using both instrumental monitoring and specially validated assessment tools. Unit 2 addresses basic care in ICU patients, particularly hygiene and mobilization, reflecting recent developments in nursing that focus on the importance of these activities. Unit 3 highlights the main nursing outcomes in ICU patients, particularly focusing on risk prevention and complication management. Lastly, Unit 4 discusses advances in ICU nursing, from clinical, organizational and research perspectives.