[NSUNurse2b]

I was just wondering what exactly is CT-ICU. I know the cardiothoracic icu part of it and they have cardiac cases. I was looking at a children's hospital and I stumbled upon CT-ICU. I guess I would like to know what do CT-ICU patients look like. Are they mostly intubated and on vents, do they have a lot of drips? Are most of the patients post-surgical patients? Any other info would help. Thanks in advance!

[cheerguard]

HI... all icu's have an array of different patients... i work in a CTICU. our patients are not children, but we get the post op cabg, valves and carotids. we also get thoracotomies and lung surgeries like that. our patients are intubated when they get back and then we extubate there in the room... they are possibly on gtts too... i guess there is no set answer about what to expect... it depends on the acuity your hospital recieves. the more unstable patients will go to a more qualified hospital or you might be the ones giving the care...

[ghillbert]

Think lots of drips, sometimes IABPs and VADs, a lot of postop bypass and valves. Lots of CVCs and swans (depending on your hospital) and plenty of hemodynamic information.