Abstract

At the end of 2019, a cluster of patients with severe pneumonia of unknown origin were reported from Wuhan, China. In February 2020, The World Health Organization identified the infection as Coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19). Recently there are an increasing number of cases reported throughout the World and more than 4.000.000 people have been confirmed as infected with Coronavirus 19. The infection with Covid-19 is characterized by a large variability of clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic to severe acute respiratuary distress syndrome. 5-10% of patients with COVID-19 develop severe ARDS. As this disease can severely effect the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, central nervous and renal systems, the intensive care unit management is essential. Pandemic requires a multidisciplinary approach for patient care. The intensivists and intensive care units are very important to manage the most severe cases. This led to the saturation of existing ICU beds and creates a serious burden on healthcare systems and providers. This article provides recommendations to support itensive care physicians who manage patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU). We have summarized the literature and recommendations on clinical practice for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in intensive care.