Brain Death
Brain death is the irreversible loss of all functions of the brain, including the brainstem. The three essential findings in brain death are coma (unresponsiveness), absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnoea
Category CCC
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Troponin in Critical Illness
Troponin abnormality is set at the 99th percentile in the healthy population, As the tests become more and more sensitive, the absolute cutoff value for “abnormal” has become lower and lower and the test has become less specific for myocardial infarction
Electrical Storm
Electrical Storm; 3 or more sustained episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), or appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks during a 24-hour period
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome is a combination of the presence of a congenital accessory pathway and episodes of tachyarrhythmia.
ICU Acquired Weakness (ICUAW)
ICU Acquired Weakness (ICUAW) includes critical illness myopathy (CIM); critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP), or a mixture of both (myopathy is typically predominant); very common in the mechanically ventilated (25-60% in those mechanically ventilated for > 7 days)
Wide Complex Tachycardia
TYPES Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) Wide complex SVT Accelerated idioventricular rhythm Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA see separate document WIDE COMPLEX SVT see VT document for Brugada algorithm ACCELERATED IDIOVENTRICULAR RHYTHM (AIVR) encountered in an inferior AMI often causes haemodynamic compromise…
Endotracheal suction catheter
OVERVIEW endotracheal suction catheter USE clears secretions from the airways when the cough reflex is impaired or absent DESCRIPTION fine bore suction catheter that is can be passed down an endotracheal tube sterile sleeve allows repeated use METHOD OF USE…
Mobilisation in the ICU
Mobilisation in the ICU. The effects of critical illness, and the therapies instituted, can have effects that persist long after ICU discharge. These effects include profound and prolonged neuromuscular dysfunction
Wellens Syndrome
Wellens Syndrome = high grade LAD or LM coronary lesion
Ventricular Tachycardia
Ventricular Tachycardia = 3 or more VEB at a rate of > 130 beats/min. If > 30 seconds = sustained; can be monophoric or polymorphic
Ventricular Fibrillation
Ventricular Fibrillation requires a initiating stimulus in a susceptible myocardium.
Gas On Abdominal X-ray DDx
Location of gas on the abdominal x-ray may suggest the the underlying cause. Differential diagnosis