Tehohoitoa

Tehohoitoa is the Finnish term for intensive care or critical care medicine, referring to specialized medical treatment for patients with life-threatening conditions that require comprehensive monitoring and support of vital functions. It encompasses care delivered in intensive care units (ICUs) and other high-dependency areas, and aims to stabilize patients, treat the underlying cause of critical illness, and support recovery.

Typical components of tehohoitoa include continuous physiological monitoring, mechanical ventilation, cardiovascular support (vasopressors, fluid management), renal replacement therapy for acute kidney failure, advanced infection control and targeted pharmacologic interventions. Multidisciplinary teams—often including intensive care physicians, nurses specialized in critical care, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and allied health professionals—coordinate complex interventions and rehabilitation planning.

Indications for tehohoitoa include severe respiratory failure, septic shock, major trauma, acute neurological compromise, postoperative complications after high-risk surgery and multi-organ dysfunction. Patient care emphasizes individualized treatment plans, prevention of complications such as nosocomial infections and delirium, and early mobilization where feasible.

Tehohoitoa raises ethical and resource considerations, including triage, end-of-life decision-making and allocation of high-cost technologies. Outcomes vary by condition, patient factors and timing of interventions; long-term recovery may involve follow-up for physical, cognitive and psychological sequelae. In Finland and other countries, intensive care services are integrated into national healthcare systems and continually evolve with advances in monitoring, organ support and evidence-based protocols.