Critical Care
Some 80,000 patients are admitted to more than 80 intensive care units in the Netherlands every year. They are seriously ill, need intensive treatment and their vital signs are in danger of failing.
Most ICU patients require artificial ventilation because they need help with breathing. Although artificial ventilation saves many lives, it comes with many risks. In particular, ICU patients who are on artificial ventilation for longer periods are at a high risk of the adverse effects of hospitalisation. How to take the best possible care of this vulnerable group of patients is the focus of professor Frederique Paulus at the Critical Care research group of the AUAS and the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (UMC), located at the Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC).
The Critical Care research group focuses on the nursing aspects of the care at, and scientific research into, IC units, especially the care of and research into artificially ventilated patients. The research group evaluates the old and new treatments of airway management and artificial ventilation provided by ICU nurses. The research group also focuses on the implementation of proven effective interventions, as well as the phasing out of ineffective airway management and artificial ventilation