The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Risk is a nebulous term in evidence-based medicine, as it may refer to either relative or absolute risks. Overall, absolute risks are more meaningful and can be converted in 'numbers need to treat' (NNT), which are useful in the clinical setting
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves plot sensitivity versus false positive rate for several values of a diagnostic test
Causes of HYPOcalcaemia: Commonest causes: HYPOalbuminaemia and HYPERventilation
IDEAL BODY WEIGHT DOSING BODY WEIGHT LEAN BODY WEIGHT
Uric acid is the major end metabolite of purine. Purine found in nucleic acid and exogenous sources; Commonly used as marker for gout and pre-eclampsia; Levels do not usually indicate severity of disease
Echocardiography in acute myocardial infarction is useful for identification of regional wall motion abnormalities and complications
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Carried out in a pressurised chamber (single or multiple patients). Treatments typically between 2 and 3 ATA
Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia (COP) is also known as bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia (BOOP); not the same as bronchiolitis obliterans; the rapidly progressive form has a very poor prognosis
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium (CCC) has numerous entries on sepsis, this page collates them
AKI is the entire spectrum of disease (mild -> severe), and can be defined as an abrupt (1 to 7 days) and sustained (more than 24 hours) decrease in kidney function. Mortality of critically patients with acute renal failure is high (50%–60%)
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common problem in the critically ill associated with increased morbidity and mortality
Renal Transplant; commonest transplant; anastamosed to common iliac artery and vein in the pelvis. the ureter is plumbed into the bladder; allows ease of access for palpation and biopsy