Selective Digestive Tract Decontamination in Intensive Care Medicine: a Practical Guide to Controlling Infection

More than 20 years ago it was recognized that patients in the intensive care unit suffered from infections developed whilst being treated. Moreover, the majority of these infections appeared to originate from bacteria that were acquired in the intensive care leading to pathologic colonisation and overgrowth in the gut, subsequently leading to organ site infections. Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) is an antibiotic strategy which aims to prevent secondary infections in critically ill patients. This book provides both the scientific rationale and the practical approach to nurses, physicians, pharmacists and microbiologists to design a SDD treatment strategy tailored to each individual patient and the local hospital situation. In this book, many intensive care physicians will find the answers on problems they encounter in daily practice concerning infection prevention by the use of SDD. Physicians who have not practiced SDD so far, and wishing to start it, will find all the information they need for a successful implementation.