Nutrition is an important aspect of care for any patient entering the hospital, but the patient admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is at an even higher risk for nutritional compromise. Nutrition affects all ages, from the neonate to the geriatric patient, and all patient populations. Evidence-based practice guidelines regarding appropriate nutritional support within the critical care setting are published. Yet, researchers continue to identify that despite published evidence, countless ICU patients continue to lack adequate and timely nutritional support on admission. Each of the authors in this issue promotes nutrition in their careers and individual practice areas, which brings knowledge from many different arenas throughout the nation. This issue discusses nutrition throughout the lifespan, special patient populations, implementation of guidelines, and how nutrition is being utilized as medical therapy.

Gastrointestinal dysfunction or injury is common in the critical care patient either as a primary diagnosis or as secondary symptoms. Several studies confirm that up to 62% of critical care patients exhibit at least one GI symptom for at least one day. In addition, recent studies have shown that GI problems are related to negative outcomes in the critical care patient. The articles in this issue are current and relevant to critical care patients today: Autoimmune Disease of the Gut in the Critical Care Patient; Nutrition Options in CCU Patients; Mesenteric Ischemia; Management of C-Diff in Critical Care Setting; Management of Acute GI Bleed; Acute Diverticulitis Management; GI Patient Skills Training in the ICU: SOFA assessment and recognizing GI symptoms; EBP with probiotics in treatment for antibiotic associated diarrhea in the ICU; GI Problems in the ICU with Patients with HIV/AIDs; Complications of GI Motility/GI Failure in the Critically Ill Patient; Untreated Gastroesophageal Reflux Patients in the ICU; Liver Transplant; Ecoli Complications in Critical Care-Pediatrics; and GI Traumatic injuries: GI Perforation. Being knowledgeable and skillful in the recognition and care for these problems is paramount to the critical care nurse.

Dr. Chapa has assembled top-notch authors to write clinical reviews on the important topic of psychologic issues in the ICU. The issue focuses not only psychologic issues of patients in the ICU but also on issues facing critical care nurses working in the ICU. Articles are devoted to the following topics: Caring for the Caregiver in the ICU; Delirium vs. Dementia in ICU; Pediatric Delirium in ICU; Sarcopenia and Psychosocial Variables in ICU; Impact of Early Mobility in ICU on Psychological Issues; Intensive Care Syndrome; PTSD in ICU Nurses; Burnout Syndrome; Management Strategies in the ICU to Improve Psychosocial outcomes; and Psychologic Issues of Patient Transition from Intensive Care to Palliative Care. Readers will come away with current information they need to provide quality care with positive patient outcomes.

This issue of Endocrinology Clinics brings the reader up to date on the important advances in research surrounding acute diabetic complications. Guest edited by Leonid Poretsky and Eliana Liao, the topics covered include retinopathy, neuropathy, gastrointestinal complications, diabetic foot, dental complications, dermatologic complications, and more.

This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Debora Simmons, RN, MSN, CCRN, CCNS, will feature such article topics as: Cause Mapping Critical Events; Blood Bank Safety in the ICU; Patient Safety in Perinatal Care; High Risk Drugs in Critical Areas; Enteral Feeding Tubing Misconnections; Safe Practices for Enteral Nutrition; Negotiating Safety; Device Complexity and Human Factors; Decreasing Risk; Delirium in ICU; and Voice of the Patient.

This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Janet Foster, PhD, RN, CNS, will focus on Wound Care, with article topics including: Wound management; wound debridement; acute wounds; nutrition and wound healing; biology of acute wound failure; psychological stress and wound healing; chronic wound management in the elderly; and adjuncts to preparing wounds for closure: growth factors, skin substitutes, negative pressure therapy and hyperbaric oxygen.

Special considerations arise as critical care nurses care for victims of trauma and violence. This issue highlights the recent advances in the care of these patients, including victims of street crime and domestic violence. As a result of the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, changes in the echelons of care have been brought to U.S. trauma centers in order to better triage, manage, and provide post-surgical care to trauma patients. Articles in this issue address the advances in this field.

Surviving critical illness is not always the happy ending that we imagine for patients. Intensive care unit (ICU) teams have traditionally focused on short term goals such as stabilizing or reversing organ system dysfunction, with little understanding of what became of patients once they left the ICU. However, research conducted in recent years has demonstrated that many ICU survivors can suffer from ill health and mental health issues for months or years to follow. The Textbook of Post-ICU Medicine: The Legacy of Critical Care identifies the long term outcomes of ICU and the steps that can be taken to improve patients' health and wellbeing. Describing the major clinical syndromes affecting ICU survivors, the book delineates established or postulated biological mechanisms of the post-acute recovery process, and discusses strategies for treatment and rehabilitation to promote recovery in the ICU and in the long term. The book serves as a unique reference for general practitioners, internists and nurses caring for long term ICU survivors as well as specialists in intensive care medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine.

Dr. Goldsworthy has created a state-of-the-art issue that emphasizes the nurse's role in mechanical ventilation. Pertinent clinical topics include the following: basics of mechanical ventilation for nurses; current modes for mechanical ventilation; best practices for managing pain, sedation, and delirium in the mechanically ventilated patient; mobilization of and optimal oxygenation for the mechanicaly ventilated patient; managing complications; and effective weaning strategies. Authors also address mechanical ventilation in both children and neonates. The current content in this issue will leave nurses with the clinical information they need to effectively manage mechanically ventilated patients.

Dr. Squiers has assembled the leading nurses in the country on the management of fluids and electrolytes to write state-of-the-art reviews on this important topic. Readers will come away with current knowledge and management strategies to improve patient outcomes in the following areas: Colloids vs crystalloids in trauma resuscitation; Colloids vs crystalloids in post cardiopulmonary bypass patients; Potassium and magnesium serum levels in Aifb prophalxysis; Review of outcomes in hypernatremia in ICP management; Does evidence drive fluid volume restriction in chronic HF; Assessment of volume status in patients with mechanical cardiac support devices; Assessment of volume status utilizing ultrasounds examination; Managing electrolyte disturbances in tumor lysis syndrome; Post-cystectomy electrolyte issues with neobladder hypophosphatemia effects on weaning mechanical ventilation; and Does fluid resuscitation affect long-term cognitive function in sepsis?