ICU Protocols
A physician-led critical care reference for the bedside. Every protocol is published under a named byline, reviewed by the chief editor, and cites the guidelines it draws on. A print edition is in preparation.
- 10 protocols · 9 parts
- Chief editor, every protocol
- Open · print-ready
- Not required
About This Resource
Skip to contentsA volunteer, physician-led effort
Built by practicing ICU clinicians, on their own time.
Not a commercial product, and not funded or influenced by any device, pharmaceutical, or vendor interest. Contributors and Section Editors are not paid; the return is a named, citable, versioned byline, the recognition a textbook chapter or journal article carries.
A high bar for quality
Every protocol follows one fixed template.
Overview, stepwise bedside actions, a decision-branch algorithm, a role-specific EMR order set, adoption guidance, success metrics, and annotated references. Every recommendation is tied to a current society guideline or primary literature, cited explicitly. Nothing is presented as adoptable until it clears full editorial review; until then it stays Draft.
Editorial process
The repository is run like an edited reference textbook, not an open wiki. Every protocol has a named owner and moves through a fixed review chain before publication:
Draft
A Contributor submits or edits a protocol using the standard template, with every clinical claim sourced to current literature or guideline.
Section Review
The Section Editor for that clinical domain (e.g., Respiratory, Shock, NeuroCritical Care) checks clinical accuracy, currency of references, and template compliance, then requests changes or approves.
Chief Editor Review
The Chief Editor gives final sign-off, resolving any disagreement between Section Editor and contributor and confirming the protocol meets the repository's editorial standard.
Published
The protocol goes live with a visible byline (Section Editor and contributors), version number, and last-reviewed date, and becomes available for any institution to adopt or adapt.
Full detail on roles, review triggers, and licensing is on the Editorial Policy page.
Periodic review
Publication is not the end.
Every protocol carries a next-review date, 24 months by default, and is re-reviewed sooner if a society updates a guideline or a Section Editor or reader flags an issue. Anything due is marked Under Revision, so you can tell at a glance whether it reflects current practice.
Freely available to any institution
Free for any institution to adopt or adapt.
Published under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (attribution, non-commercial, share-alike; see the Editorial Policy page). A literature-grounded starting point your own physician and pharmacy leadership adapt to local formulary, staffing, and practice, not a one-size-fits-all order set to implement unmodified.
General recommendations, not individual medical care
The protocols published here reflect general clinical guidance based on the literature and expert input available at the time of last review. They are intended to inform, not replace, the independent medical judgment of the treating clinician for the specific patient in front of them. Use of this resource does not create a physician-patient relationship with the Chief Editor, any Section Editor, or any contributor, and nothing here constitutes medical advice for any individual patient or clinical situation. Actual patient care must account for that patient's full clinical presentation, comorbidities, and preferences, and must conform to the adopting institution's own policies, pharmacy and therapeutics review, and applicable standard of care. The decision to adopt, adapt, or deviate from any protocol, and responsibility for the clinical outcome of that decision, rests solely with the treating clinician and the adopting institution. The Chief Editor, Section Editors, and contributors make no warranty, express or implied, as to outcomes from the use of this content, and disclaim liability arising from its use, adoption, or adaptation. This disclaimer appears in full on every individual protocol page.
Contents
Shock
IV Fluid Therapy in the ICU
IV fluid is one of the most common ICU interventions and, given uncritically, one of the most harmful — cumulative positive fluid balance…
Rev. 2026-07-19
Sepsis and Septic Shock: Recognition and Management
Sepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction from a dysregulated host response to infection; septic shock is sepsis with hypotension…
Rev. 2026-07-19
Vasopressor Administration via Peripheral IV
Vasopressors were traditionally restricted to central venous catheters (CVCs) after early case reports of extravasation-related tissue…
Rev. 2026-07-19
Renal & Electrolytes
NeuroCritical Care
Status Epilepticus
Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency with mortality rising sharply as it becomes refractory (RSE) or super-refractory (SRSE).
Rev. 2026-07-19
Targeted Temperature Management / Post-Arrest Temperature Control
Targeted temperature management (TTM) — previously called "therapeutic hypothermia" — refers to maintaining a comatose post-cardiac-arrest…
Rev. 2026-07-19
ICU Management
Share these with your patients.
Each guide is free, physician-written, plain-language, and sells nothing. Print a one-page handout for any patient at discharge. It carries a QR to the guide and a short web address, so a patient or the person helping them can open it later.
Want printed packets or a bundle for a discharge planner? Ask our team.
Pulmonary Recovery
A free guide for breathing easier at home after a COPD flare-up or a hospital stay.
Cardiac Recovery
A free guide for getting your strength back after a heart attack or heart surgery.
ICU Recovery
A free guide for life after an intensive care stay, for you and the person helping you.
Stroke Recovery
A free guide for recovering after a stroke, with a word and speech practice game.
Post-Surgery Recovery
A free guide for healing at home after an operation.
Healthy Aging & Staying Steady
A free guide to stay steady on your feet and lower your chance of a fall.
Sleep & Insomnia Recovery
A free guide for when sleep will not come.
Call for authors
21 topics on the roadmap are unassigned. Authors draft against the volume's structure, revise under chief-editor review, and are credited by name on the published protocol and in the print edition.
- NIVApply to author
- Basic MVApply to author
- ARDS MVApply to author
- COPD MVApply to author
- O2 therapy / HFNCApply to author
- PE AnticoagulationApply to author
- Electrolyte repletionApply to author
- Hyper/hyponatremiaApply to author
- Hyper/hypokalemiaApply to author
- CRRTApply to author
- TBI / spinal injuryApply to author
- Hypertensive emergenciesApply to author
- Stroke / ICH / SAHApply to author
- Brain death evaluationApply to author
- CLABSI PreventionApply to author
- GI BleedingApply to author
- NSTEMIApply to author
- STEMIApply to author
- IABPApply to author
- VV ECMOApply to author
- Poisoning managementApply to author
Contribute to the volume.
Most ICU protocols circulate as PDFs or slide decks that drift out of date and do not map cleanly onto how order sets get built in an EMR. This repository is meant to fix both problems, and it only works with contributors who bring real bedside and literature expertise. Two roles are open:
Contributor
Drafts a new protocol, or revises an existing one, using the standard template. Open to any clinician, pharmacist, nurse educator, or trainee with the relevant expertise; every contribution routes through editorial review.
Section Editor
Owns a clinical domain: first-line review of every draft in that Part, and the recommendation to the Chief Editor when a protocol is ready to publish. Every seat is currently open; the Editorial Board below shows each vacancy.
- Drafting or reviewing against the standard template: Overview, numbered Steps, an Algorithm flowchart, a role-specific EMR Order Set, Adoption Notes, Success Metrics, and annotated Suggested Reading.
- Grounding every clinical recommendation in the current society guideline or primary literature, with full citations.
- Responding to Section Editor and Chief Editor review feedback before publication.
- The time commitment of an initial draft, plus occasional review as the protocol comes up for its scheduled 24-month update.
- Named, citable, versioned authorship. Your byline appears on the published protocol page, in its front matter, and in its revision history, and carries into the print edition in preparation.
- Section Editor recognition. If that role interests you: credit for your domain, with input on future contributor recruitment and protocol scope for that Part.
- A standard other units adopt. A voice in shaping a practical, EMR-ready protocol that adopting ICUs build from directly, rather than a slide deck that goes stale.
This is a volunteer academic collaboration, not a paid arrangement, and content is released under a non-commercial, share-alike license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Roles, the review workflow, and licensing are set out in full on the Editorial Policy page.
Reviews every protocol in the volume before publication.
- I
Respiratory
Seat open
- II
Shock
Seat open
- III
Renal & Electrolytes
Seat open
- IV
NeuroCritical Care
Seat open
- V
ABCDEF Bundles
Seat open
- VI
ICU Management
Seat open
- VII
GI Bleeding
Seat open
- VIII
Cardiology
Seat open
- IX
Other
Seat open
Section editors review every protocol in their part before publication and are credited by name, on the site and in the print edition.
Apply for a section-editor seatThese protocols support, and do not substitute for, institutional policy, pharmacy and therapeutics review, and individual clinical judgment. Verify current dosing, contraindications, and local formulary constraints before use in patient care.