The Consequences of Developing Acute Illness

Furthermore, patients admitted to hospital with a medical condition (e.g. cardiac failure) may also develop a surgical complication (e.g. perforated duodenal ulcer) that requires surgical expertise and transfer to a surgical team’s care. However, we now recognise that some patients are at particularly high risk of physiological deterioration or developing a complication (Table 1). Table 1: Patients at risk of physiological deterioration or of developing a complication