CCC

The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Coarctation of Aorta

Coarctation of Aorta: congenital condition characterised by narrowing of the aorta near the site where the ductus arteriosus (ligamentum arteriosum after regression) inserts.

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Coagulation Profile

OVERVIEW PROTHROMBIN TIME -> warfarin-> vitamin K deficiency-> liver disease-> DIC-> artefact: incorrect sampling or increased haematocrit (> 55%) ACTIVATED PARTIAL THROMBOPLASTIN TIME -> heparin-> DIC-> haemophilia-> liver disease THROMBIN TIME -> heparin-> DIC-> hypofibrinogenaemia-> fibrin degradation products FIBRINOGEN ->…

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

D-dimer

D-dimer specific for fibrin breakdownsensitivity = 95%specificity = 50%

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Platelet Function Assays

PFA-100 = citrated whole blood placed in a disposable cartridge containing a membrane coated with collagen/adrenaline or collagen/ADP into which a microscopic aperture has been cut -> with high shear rates contact of blood with the membrane causes platelets to aggregate and occlude the aperture.

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Thromboelastogram (TEG)

Thromboelastography (TEG) is a viscoelastic hemostatic assay that measures the global viscoelastic properties of whole blood clot formation under low shear stress

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Thrombophilia Screen

Thrombophilia is a predisposition to increased risk of venous and arterial thromboembolism due to haemostatic abnormalities

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

VBG versus ABG

Reviewed and revised 7 January 2016 OVERVIEW Venous blood gases (VBG) are widely used in the emergency setting in preference to arterial blood gases (ABG) as a result of research published since 2001 The weight of data suggests that venous pH…