What is Critical Care?

Critical care is medical care for individuals facing life-threatening injuries and illnesses. It generally takes place in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital or clinical setting.

When Do People Need Critical Care?

An individual with the following condition needs Critical Care:

• Severe burns
• COVID-19
• Heart attack
• Severe bleeding
• Serious infections
• Serious injuries, such as from car crashes, falls, and shootings
• Shock and Stroke
• Heart and Kidney failure
• Person recovering from certain complex surgeries
• Respiratory failure
• Sepsis

Staff in the Critical Care Department in Best Hospital, Kolkata

The best hospital’s Critical Care unit in Kolkata is backed by the following experts:

• Physicians (Intensivists)/Doctors specialized in critical care
• Nurses
• Respiratory Therapists
• Pharmacists
• Dieticians & Nutritionists
• Physiotherapists
• Technicians

Who is a Critical Care Doctor

Critical Care medicine specialists (Also known as Intensivists) are medical doctors who specialize in the care of individuals who are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

In short, they are the doctors working in Intensive Care medicine who manage the sickest patients in the hospital.

Roles & Responsibilities of a Critical Care Doctor in Kolkata

• Diagnosing and treating life-threatening conditions (Sepsis, Organ failure, Severe trauma).
• Monitor life support systems.
• Performing critical procedures.
• Coordinate with the ICU team.
• Oversees the resuscitation of patients with, or at risk for, critical illness or injury and organ failure to avoid imminent deterioration.
• Respond to in-hospital emergencies.

Specialization of Intensivists

• Neurologic Intensivists (Neuro-ICU)
• Pediatric Intensivists (PICU)
• Neonatal Intensivists (NICU)
• Trauma Intensivists (TICU)
• Geriatric or Isolation Intensivists

What Happens in a Critical Care Unit?

The best doctors and the critical care team in Kolkata use different equipment or technology to provide Intensive Care to the patient.

1. Catheters

These flexible tubes are used to get fluids into the body or to drain fluids from the body. They are vital for Hemodynamic monitoring, nutritional support, and Renal replacement.

2. Dialysis Machines ("Artificial Kidneys")

Used for individuals with Kidney failure.

3. Feeding Tubes

Doctors use them to give critically ill patients nutritional support.

4. Intravenous (IV) Tubes

Vital for administering fluids and medicines.

5. Machines

Check for vital signs and display them on monitors.

6. Oxygen Therapy

To deliver extra oxygen to breathe in.

7. Tracheostomy Tubes (Also Known as Breathing Tubes)

It is often required when a health condition needs long-term use of a machine called a ventilator to support breathing.

8. Ventilators (Breathing Machines)

Support the movement of air in and out of the lungs. This is for individuals who have respiratory failure.

What Are the Three Levels of Critical Care?

Here are the 3 levels:

1. A Level 1 ICU

Team ensures oxygen therapy or ECG, to prevent deterioration without full ICU admission.​

2. A Level 2 ICU

Team offers basic life support and detailed observation with support for two or more organ systems.​

3. A Level 3 ICU

Advanced multi-organ support. It is the highest level, and the team offers a full spectrum of life support technologies and monitoring.

What Is the Difference Between ICU and Critical Care?

• An ICU is a general term for a hospital unit offering comprehensive care for a wide range of life-threatening illnesses.
• A CCU (Critical Care Unit) can either be a synonym for a general ICU. However, in hospitals, it can also refer to a dedicated unit for cardiac (heart) conditions.

Critical Care Doctor Near Me in Kolkata | IRIS Hospital

The Department of Critical Care at IRIS Multispeciality Hospital is backed by a team of highly skilled critical care doctors, critical care nurses, and multidisciplinary specialists. This helps us deliver comprehensive critical care services to individuals when required.

Our expertise includes

1. Medical Intensive Care
2. Surgical Intensive Care
3. Neurocritical Care
4. Cardiovascular Intensive Care
5. Pediatric Intensive Care

You can schedule a call at IRIS at this number: +91 8929579509. Our Address: 82/1, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700047 Open: 24x7

FAQs

Q1: Do people survive critical care?
A: Yes, thanks to the dedicated teams of medical professionals working in ICUs like the IRIS Multispeciality Hospital, the majority of ICU patients survive. The rate may vary based on the type of condition; for example, heart attack patients have an 80–90% survival rate.

Q2: What is more serious, ICU or critical care?
A: There are no such competing levels of severity between ICU and critical care; rather, ICU is the specialized hospital department (physical unit or place in the hospital) where critical care (the specialized, high-level intensive care treatment) is delivered. They are used interchangeably, and both are equally high‑level, life‑support treatments for serious conditions.

Q3: How long do patients usually stay in critical care?
A: The duration of stay may vary and is influenced by factors like

• Patient Condition
• Type and Severity of Condition
• Age and Location
• Rate of Recovery

Patients generally stay in critical care (ICU) for 2 to 5 days on average for those who survive to hospital discharge.

Q4: What is the highest level of critical care?
A: A Level 3 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a tertiary‑care ICU, is the highest level of critical care. Here are its key features in a hospital like IRIS Multispeciality Hospital in Kolkata:

• Continuous mechanical ventilation.
• Multi‑organ support (e.g., heart, lungs, kidneys).
• Complex monitoring, such as invasive hemodynamic or intracranial pressure monitoring.
• Immediate access to intensivists, surgeons, and subspecialists.

Q5: What are the risks and complications of critical care treatment?
A: The medical team takes all the necessary steps to reduce all the risks and complications of critical care treatment.  Here are some of the risks:

• Frequent infection due to invasive devices.
• Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP).
• ICU-acquired weakness (due to immobility).
• Venous thromboembolism (VTE).
• Nutritional deficits.
• Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)
• Treatment-related side effects like nephrotoxicity and oversedation.
• Respiratory distress (ARDS).