jcm-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Clinical Practices of Critical Care in Emergency Medicine

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Intensive Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 March 2026 | Viewed by 79

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. Intermediate Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Alto Vicentino (AULSS7), 36014 Santorso, Italy
2. Department of Health Sciences, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy
Interests: sepsis; triage; intermediate care unit; mild traumatic brain injury; non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, emergency medicine has increasingly integrated high-intensity therapeutic practices traditionally associated with intensive care, reinterpreting them through a less invasive lens. This Special Issue aims to explore how core elements of critical care, such as ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, and pharmacological management, can be adapted to the emergency setting using non-invasive or minimally invasive tools and strategies.

Early use of non-invasive monitoring, non-invasive ventilatory support applications, and timely initiation of pharmacological therapies guided by personalized clinical indicators make it possible to deliver high-level care while minimizing the invasive burden on patients. This approach can lead to earlier improvements in clinical outcomes, reduce the need for intensive care, and optimize the use of available resources.

We welcome original research, systematic reviews, and clinical experiences that examine the adaptation of intensive care practices to the emergency setting, with particular focus on clinical effectiveness, feasibility, and impact on patient outcomes.

Rethinking invasiveness could represent a paradigm shift in the management of critically ill patients, opening new opportunities for early, safe, and effective treatment beginning in the emergency department.

Dr. Gianni Turcato
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • non-invasiveness
  • non-ICU critically ill patient
  • organ replacement versus organ support
  • prognostic assessment
  • vasopressors, inotropes, and vasoactive agents
  • emergency department

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

15 pages, 1003 KB  
Review
Intermediate Care Units in Europe and Italy: A Review of Structure, Outcomes, and Policy Implications for Internal Medicine
by Gianni Turcato, Arian Zaboli, Alessandro Cipriano, Andrea Montagnani, Vieri Vannucchi, Filippo Pieralli, Anna Belfiore, Filippo Valbusa, Massimo Marchetti, Paolo Ferretto, Lucia Filippi, Antonio Voza, Lorenzo Ghiadoni, Walter Ageno and Christian J. Wiedermann
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(18), 6543; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186543 - 17 Sep 2025
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Intermediate Care Units (IMCUs) provide a level of care between general wards and Intensive Care Units (ICUs). While widely implemented across Europe, their use in the Italian internal medicine remains limited. To review the clinical effectiveness, organizational benefits, and policy relevance of [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Intermediate Care Units (IMCUs) provide a level of care between general wards and Intensive Care Units (ICUs). While widely implemented across Europe, their use in the Italian internal medicine remains limited. To review the clinical effectiveness, organizational benefits, and policy relevance of IMCUs in Europe and assess opportunities and barriers to their implementation in the Italian hospital system. Methods: A narrative review of international and Italian literature from the origin of intermediate care models in 2025, with emphasis on patient outcomes, ICU utilization, cost-effectiveness, and governance models for IMCUs. Results: European studies consistently show that IMCUs improve patient flow, reduce ICU burden, and may reduce mortality among selected high-acuity patients. In Italy, respiratory and cardiac IMCUs have demonstrated similar benefits. However, general internal medicine IMCUs remain underdeveloped. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural gaps in the capacity for intermediate care. Recent legislative efforts (e.g., Decree-Law 34/2020) have aimed to expand sub-intensive care, but implementation is still heterogeneous. Conclusions: IMCUs are a cost-effective and clinically valuable strategy for managing non-ICU high-acuity patients. Structured integration of IMCUs into internal medicine in Italy could improve care quality and system efficiency. Clear triage protocols, adequate staffing, and strong organizational leadership are essential for success. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Practices of Critical Care in Emergency Medicine)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop