Infection Prevention and Control

In the United States, estimates indicate that more than 750,000 people will present with severe sepsis, 51% of whom are likely to need ICU care and an additional 17% of whom will need ventilator support in another area such as intermediate care. Severe sepsis is one component on the spectrum of infectious diseases in which the critical care team must have ongoing expertise, including knowledge about the epidemiology of established and emerging infectious diseases, prevention of nosocomial infections, and the recognition and diagnosis of infections, as well as state-of-the-art treatment options. This section will assist the critical care provider by sharing the knowledge and experiences of experts in infectious disease topics in a variety of forms, from guidelines to podcasts on some controversial topics.