Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves plot sensitivity versus false positive rate for several values of a diagnostic test
Category CCC
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Risk and Numbers Needed to Treat
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
Case-Control Studies
Case-Control Studies: a type of retrospective observational study; control patients are ‘matched’ using some criteria (age, gender), typically should have no history of the disease of interest and should be representative of the general population
Hypocalcaemia DDx
Causes of HYPOcalcaemia: Commonest causes: HYPOalbuminaemia and HYPERventilation
Urate (Uric Acid)
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
Acute Myocardial Infarction Echocardiography
Echocardiography in acute myocardial infarction is useful for identification of regional wall motion abnormalities and complications
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Carried out in a pressurised chamber (single or multiple patients). Treatments typically between 2 and 3 ATA
Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia
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
Sepsis Overview
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium (CCC) has numerous entries on sepsis, this page collates them
Acute Kidney Injury
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%)
Renal Disease Biomarkers
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common problem in the critically ill associated with increased morbidity and mortality