Category CCC

The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Abdominal pain DDx

Acute abdomen is abdominal pain in the presence of tenderness and rigidity and is a surgical emergency. Abdominal pain can be considered in terms of surgical, Ob/Gyn and medical causes.

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Weight loss DDx

Weight loss can be voluntary or involuntary, in the latter case appetite may be increased or decreased.

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Gynaecomastia DDx

Gynecomastia results from increased oestrogens, decreased androgens or drugs that mimic these effects. Differential diagnosis

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Hypoglycemia

There is no universally accepted definition of hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose). Clinically significant hypoglycemia is confirmed by the presence of ‘Whipple triad’

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Confidence Intervals

Confidence intervals are the range around the sample mean within which you predict the means of the population to lie

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Resuscitative Thoracotomy

Resuscitative thoracotomy is a thoracotomy performed prehospital, in the emergency department or elsewhere that is an integral part of the initial resuscitation of a patient; an alternate term is emergency thoracotomy

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Crush Syndrome

Crush Syndrome: prolonged ischaemic and muscular damage -> rhabdomyolysis and reperfusion injury on release; limb often initially numb with a peripheral pulse -> rapid swelling with compartment syndrome

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Asterixis DDx

Asterixis is the sudden loss of muscle tone during sustained contraction of an outstretched limb. It is associated with a silent period on EMG, distinguishing it from myoclonus, and is sometimes referred to as ‘negative myoclonus’.