Cardiac Failure DDx
In emergency medicine and critical care, the cardiac failure that primarily concerns us is acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS), which refers to rapid worsening of heart failure signs and symptoms, and has many possible causes.
Category CCC
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Prognosis After Cardiac Arrest
Prognosis After Cardiac Arrest incolves: the underlying cause of cardiac arrest (e.g. overdose vs dilated cardiomyopathy); presence of co-morbidities (e.g. metastatic cancer, dementia); use of targeted temperature management (therapeutic hypothermia); features of the the cardiac arrest and cardiovascular and neurological assessment
Post-cardiac arrest syndrome
Post-cardiac arrest syndrome (aka post-resuscitation syndrome). Occurs after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) following cardiorespiratory arrest and involves multiple systems
Reflects a state of whole-body ischaemia and subsequent reperfusion
Serious Generalised Skin Disorders
Serious Generalised Skin Disorders: Mnemonic: PTSD-D
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
= immune complex mediated hypersensitivity -> severe erythema multiforme. Separation of the epidermis from the dermis; most authors believe toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and SJS are different ends of the same spectrum of disease
Purpura Fulminans
CAUSES Meningococcal disease Post-splenectomy pneumococcaemia DIC Rickettsial infections High dose inotropes Endocarditis Venom-induced consumptive coagulopathy (VICC) due to snakebite
Precautionary Principle and the Kehoe Principle
The Precautionary Principle (The absence of evidence of risk = a possibility of risk until proven otherwise) and Kehoe Principle (The absence of evidence of risk = Evidence of the absence of risk) reflect different conceptions of risk in the absence of evidence
Neurogenic pulmonary oedema
Neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) is a clinical syndrome characterized by the acute onset of pulmonary edema following a significant central nervous system (CNS) insult
Nitric Oxide
Nitric Oxide: inhalational agent (inhaled nitric oxide, iNO); an inorganic gas - potent, selective pulmonary vasodilator of those areas of the lung being ventilated
Tissue Oxygenation Assessment
Tissue Oxygenation Assessment
Electrical Impedance Tomography
Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a noninvasive, radiation-free monitoring tool that allows real-time imaging of ventilation
EIT has medium spatial resolution and a very high temporal resolution
Tissue Donation
many more tissue donors available than organ donors; less time critical; early notification allows collection of blood specimens for nucleic acid testing and screening for viral infections; more exclusion criteria (may require full post-mortem to exclude CJD)