Editor's introduction

This issue of the Journal of Critical Care is dedicated to the memory of Dr Jose Besso, a passionately caring clinician, a daring physician leader, and a good friend to many. His professional accomplishments are recognized in the accompanying obituary; his personal qualities will remain as bright memories and continuing inspiration for those who knew him. His contributions to Critical Care Medicine are recognized by national and international societies, named lectures, and an indelible footprint as a true leader in the specialty he loved. However, commitment to his profession, his patients, his students, his colleagues, and above all, his family is his greater legacy. We shall miss him and recognize that our lives and profession were enhanced by the time he spent and shared with us all.

This issue of the Journal includes a potentially controversial selection of “Influential Articles in CCM,” an increased opportunity for reader comments in Letters to the Editor, and further expansion of the electronic Journal to improve the timeliness of publication. The Journal of Critical Care is the official publication resource for the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and the Society for Complexity in Acute Illness; as such, its mission is to explore the scientific vision of these organizations while promoting effective critical care solutions to their constituents. The Journal endeavors to satisfy the requirements of international organizations while maintaining publication standards and content at the highest level. I welcome your critical comments and suggestions for future sections; for example, the June edition will feature the introduction of an ultrasound technology/imaging portfolio of articles and practical suggestions in the electronic Journal.

The recent Haitian tragedy underscores the importance of an international forum in which disaster preparedness and practical critical care solutions utilizing minimal resources can be debated. The Journal of Critical Care endeavors to provide the forum in which clinician scientists from the global community can exchange ideas, opinions, and outcomes. This is an endeavor that we share and one to which Jose Besso was committed. I shall miss his counsel but trust the vision with which he endowed the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine.