In a 1964 paper, Dr. Didier, for the first time, called for a dedicated intensive care physician who “…ultimately must answer for the overall management of the ventilator patient.”1 The need for establishing a specialized unit caring for ventilated patients was first recognized in Denmark during the 1952 polio epidemic – at this time, the anesthesiologist was responsible for the respiratory support care. Coincidently, the Mayo-Gibbons cardiac bypass machine was introduced in the same year.1 Cardiac surgeons recognized the unique set of skills that anesthesiologists contribute to the care of the sickest patients and acknowledged the vital role anesthesiologists could play in the successful postoperative care of the bypass patient.
In the United States, the first three-bed ICU was opened in 1926 by Dr. Walter Edward Dandy at the Johns Hopkins Hospital: there he cared for postoperative neurosurgical patients.2,4 The development of the mechanical ventilator...
