Learn the differences between MICU, SICU, PICU, NICU, and CCU. A complete guide to ICU types, treatments, and critical care for patients and families.
As the name implies, the SICU specializes in caring for patients who have undergone surgical procedures or trauma-related injuries requiring intensive monitoring and management.
Infection in the SICU is a very serious thing, and a study showed that outcomes following infection are far more dire in the SICU than they are in the MICU. Depending on the hospital, the SICU may have surgical patients who have undergone open heart, thoracic and gastrointestinal procedures as well as the occasional organ transplant patient.
The Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) cares for critically ill patients recovering from general, thoracic, trauma, vascular, orthopedic, gynecologic and obstetric surgeries.
Patients leave the SICU when they’re stable and don’t need the SICU’s intense care anymore. The criteria for discharge include stable vital signs and the acute condition being resolved.
In 2010, the SICU received the Beacon Award from the Association of Critical Care Nurses for our excellence in care and collaborative team approach to caring for our patients. Our unit was the first adult unit in Tennessee to receive this national award of excellence.
The SICU provides a high level of intensive care to critically-ill patients from specialists who are affiliated with General Surgery, Orthopedics, Vascular Surgery, Gynecology-Obstetrics, Transplantation (liver, pancreas, bowel, and kidney), and Urology.
Compare the intensive care unit (ICU) and the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) to understand their different patient focuses, staffing, and specialized care.