Critical care in Latin America: Current situation

Critical care has grown significantly in Latin America. This growth is caused by the increase in the number of patients requiring this specialized care for whom excellent outcomes are achieved with the indisputable development of critical care. There is an increasing interest for the application of systems ensuring quality medical care, a reason why some countries have decided to make critical care part of their legislation. Because of the economic conditions in the region there is a marked difference in the number of intensive care beds among Latin American countries compared with European countries and the United States. Standards are being prepared to establish minimum human and physical resource requirements to ensure that existing beds are equipped as best as possible.