This issue will take a look at modern critical care techniques in a historical context. Topics include: -Shock and Organ failure-, -Battlefield trauma, traumatic shock and consequences: War-related advances in critical care-, -Lessons from Modern Disasters and Wars: Bhopal, Chernobyl, Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Tsunami, Iraq-, -Plagues with Critical Care Implications: Legionairres, Staph toxic shock, SARS, Hantavirus, Group A strep nec toxic shock, Marburg and hemorrhagic fevers, Avian flu- and more

This issue of Critical Care Clinics by Dr. Anand Kumar will feature articles on: Optimizing Antimicrobial Therapy in Life-threatening infection, sepsis and septic shock;General principles of antimicrobial dosing and PK/PD; Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic issues in the critically ill with severe sepsis and septic shock;Understanding antimicrobial resistance;Combination vs monotherapy in critical illness; Antifungal therapy.

This issue is the first of a two-part series on Life-Threatening Infections, edited by Dr. Anand Kumar. Article topics include: Meningitis and other non-viral CNS infections, Encephalitis and viral meningitis, Community Acquired Pneumonia, Hospital Acquired Pneumonia/Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, Clostridial gangrene and bacterial myositis, Acute peritonitis and bowel perforations, Post-operative wound and surgical site infections and Fulminant viral hepatitis.

The second in a two-part series on Life-Threatening Infections. Article topics include: Biowarfare/Bioterrorism pathogens, Infections in neutropenics, Infections in AIDS, Influenza and endemic viral pneumonias, Resistant gram negative infections, Toxic Shock Syndrome, Fulminant viral myocarditis, and Overwhelming post-splenectomy infection.