The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING Scheinkestel, C.D. et al (1999) “Hyperbaric or normobaric oxygen for acute carbon monoxide poisoning: a randomized controlled clinical trial” Med J Aust, 170:203-210 Weaver, L.K. et al (2002) “Hyperbaric oxygen for acute carbon monoxide poisoning” NEJM 347:1057-1067…
Barbiturates cause severe CNS and respiratory depression and may mimic brain death
Benzylpiperizine: hallucinogenic stimulant with similar effects to amphetamines and MDMA; once studied as an antihelminthic agent but abandoned due to side effects
Carbamazepine Toxicity
Anorexia Nervosa = chronic, severe, multi-system disorder which is rooted in a fear of becoming overweight with deliberate weight loss
Status epilepticus is considered to have occurred when a generalised tonic-clonic seizure has lasted greater than 30 minutes.
Logistic regression analysis is used to predict a dependent binary outcome (yes/no, dead/alive) based on one or more predictor variables
Cervical Spine Fractures
Burns are injuries to tissues caused by heat, friction, electricity, radiation, or chemicals. Burn injury is characterised by a hypermetabolic response with physiologic, catabolic and immune effects
Glucagon is traditionally considered a first line antidote for beta-blocker overdose. Glucagon has also been used in the setting of calcium channel blocker toxicity
Digibind: trade name for digoxin antidote containing Digoxin-specific antibody Fab fragments; prudent to administer based on a considered risk assessment and before the life-threatening manifestations of digoxin toxicity develop
Digoxin toxicity is characterised by gastrointestinal distress, hyperkalemia and life-threatening dysryhthmias, including increased automaticity and AV nodal blockade