Pacemakers
Pacemakers are devices that detect the electrical activity of the heart and stimulate it to contract at a faster rate.
Category CCC
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Overdrive Pacing
Overdrive pacing = pacing the heart at a higher rate than the native heart rate; VT or VF can result -> always have DC cardioversion available
Pulmonary Hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is present when mean pulmonary artery pressure exceeds 25 mm Hg at rest or 30 mm Hg with exercise. Primary PHT is a relatively rare idiopathic condition; Secondary PHT is usually due to cardiac or respiratory cause
Protective Lung Ventilation
Protective lung ventilation is the current standard of care for mechanical ventilation. It is synonymous with low tidal volume ventilation (4-8 mL/kg) and often includes permissive hypercapnia
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Definitions
definitions of acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have varied over time. ARDS was first described by Ashbaugh and Petty in 1967 in a case series of 12 ICU patients who shared the common features of unusually persistent tachypnea and hypoxemia accompanied by opacification on chest radiographs and poor lung compliance, despite different underlying causes
Open Lung Approach To Ventilation
The open lung approach (OLA) to ventilation involves increasing the level of Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) in combination with protective lung ventilation
Airway Pressure Release Ventilation (APRV)
Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is inverse ratio, pressure controlled, intermittent mandatory ventilation with unrestricted spontaneous breathing
based on the Open Lung Approach To Ventilation first described by Stock et al 1987
Pressure versus Time Graph
OVERVIEW Pressure versus Time Graph. Information obtained COMMON ABNORMALITIES Normal High Raw High Flow Inadequate inspiratory flow Decreased Lung Compliance Auto PEEP Dynamic Hyperinflation Cardiac oscillations Circuit leaks References and Links
Ventilation Literature Summaries
Ventilation, summaries of key papers from the ventilation literature: NIV; ARDS; Tracheostomy; Weaning
Chorea DDx
Chorea refers to grouped small jerky involuntary random continuous movements, that often blend into (or disguised by) a voluntary movement. Chorea implies a lesion affecting corpus striatum
Dystonia DDx
Overview Dystonia is a movements disorder characterized by abnormal postures or twisting or repetitive movement caused by sustained contractions of opposing muscles Causes Focal Segmental Generalised
Horner syndrome DDx
Horner syndrome is associated with an interruption to the sympathetic nerve supply of the eye. It is characterized by the classic triad of miosis, partial ptosis, and anhidrosis +/- enophthalmos