ICU ‘Magic Numbers’: The Role of Biomarkers in Supporting Clinical Decision-Making

Introduction - Critical care medicine is a complex activity where knowledge, experience, intuition, and sometimes even luck converge. Diagnosing diseases and selecting effective therapies represent a daily challenges for clinicians, requiring them to analyze and process vast amounts of information. Patient’s medical history, clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory results, and radiological findings are just some of the elements that must be considered during routine practice. At times, the sheer volume of data can overwhelm doctors, exposing them to the risk of becoming lost in a maze of irrelevant information. This narrative review focuses on a curated set of biomarkers renowned for their reliability in supporting clinical decision-making. By leveraging these tools, we aim to streamline decision-making processes and enhance patient outcomes in the ICU’s high-stakes environment.