The handheld computer in critical care medicine.

The wealth of information that can be generated from programmable pocket calculators is not widely appreciated. These inexpensive devices have evolved into "user-friendly" microcomputers with impressive memory capacity and mathematic sophistication. A series of critical care programs is presented to illustrate the degree of computer support that is available from the newest generation of programmable pocket calculators. These programs constitute the most comprehensive microcomputer software package reported in the literature. They demonstrate that high-level mathematic capability is available not only in large medical centers, but in virtually any small community hospital as well.