Intensive Care Units at MGM Healthcare
The Critical Care/Intensive Care Unit at MGM Healthcare provides intensive care to patients with severe or life-threatening injuries or illness that require constant care, close supervision from life support systems and continuous medication to maintain normal bodily function that help them stay alive while undergoing treatment or post-surgery. Intensive care represents the highest level of care and treatment provided to critically ill patients with potentially recoverable life-threatening injuries or conditions. The intensive care unit is equipped with high-tech specialized equipments and technologies designed for close monitoring, rapid intervention and extended treatment of patients with acute and multi-organ dysfunctions. These units help maintain vital bodily functions preventing physiological deteriorating thereby reducing mortality and preventing morbidity in critically ill patients. The intensive care unit at MGM Healthcare is one of the best in the country and is supported by a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses across specialities ably supported by a team of rehabilitation specialists, physiotherapists, occupational specialists, speech therapists, endocrinologists, radiologist and nutritionists.
ICU Equipment
Various equipments and technologies are used in the ICU’s and they are mostly aimed at life support and support of different organs in the body such as lings, heart, nervous system, kidney, etc. They include
- Cardiac monitors – to monitor vital signs
- Mechanical ventilator
- Infusion pumps – to regulate the flow of medication titrated via a drip and through the infusion pump
- Syringe pumps – where a syringe is used to titrate the medication to the patient
- Suction machines
- Oxygen
- Other respiratory support machines such as BiPAP and CPAP
- ECMO
- Dialysis Units
Intensive care unit can be classified by the organs that they help care for, or by the age of the patient supported (adult or paediatric).
Neuro ICU
- Medical and surgical neuro emergencies like stroke, aneurysm, epilepsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Head and spine injuries
Surgical ICU
- Peri-operative care of surgical patients of any specialties
- Post-surgical care of polytrauma cases
Coronary CU (CCU)
- Intensive care of acute coronary ailments, including heart attacks, acute pericarditis and cardiac tamponade
Medical ICU/High dependency unit
- All types of medical emergencies including polytraumas
Cardiothoracic ICU
- Intensive monitoring of patients with cardiothoracic ailments
Paediatric ICU/Neonatal ICU
- Handling cases of status asthmaticus and status epilepticus
- Convulsions in neonates (0-30 days of age)
- Jaundice in new born
- Preterm deliveries
- Seasonal illnesses, like severe shock syndrome during dengue season
- Transcranial doppler, somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) and continuous EEG monitoring during neurological conditions
- State-of-the-art equipment to support cardiac output monitoring (invasive and non-invasive)
- Every ICU is equipped with a negative pressure isolation room to isolate and treat patients with airborne infections
- Transplant ICU has positive pressure ventilation, which decreases the chances of vulnerable patients catching infections
CASE STUDY 1
53-year-old male transferred via ambulance three hours by road from a peripheral hospital, presenting acutely unwell with abdominal pain and one week of diarrhoea. He was found to be in multi-organ failure on initial assessment and extremely acidotic due to acute renal failure. Multidisciplinary consensus was to commence emergency dialysis as part of the initial resuscitation. Dialysis was commenced within the hour and the patient was stabilised in the next few hours. Further care was continued in the Medical ICU. The patient was diagnosed to have acute pancreatitis. All organ failures resolved within the next 72 hours and the patient was discharged in 7 days.
CASE STUDY 2
Female, aged 60 years, with a background history of interstitial lung disease with multiple bullae on home oxygen, was brought to the ER via ambulance with acute onset of severe breathlessness. On arrival, patient was in extremis with severe tachycardia, hypertension, tachypnoea and severe respiratory acidosis. Examination revealed a large left-sided pneumothorax with a mediastinal shift. Owing to impending tension pneumothorax, patient had an immediate needle decompression followed by an intercostal chest drain (ICD) insertion. She improved immediately after the needle decompression. Vitals stabilised and respiratory distress resolved in the next few minutes. She was considered to have a spontaneous rupture of a bullae and a resultant pneumothorax. She was transferred to the Medical ICU for further management and the ICD was removed after a 24-hour air-free leak period. Patient was discharged in 5 days.