C-Reactive Protein DDx
Oh no, why on earth did you order a CRP?!
Category CCC
The LITFL Critical Care Compendium is a comprehensive collection of pages concisely covering the core topics and controversies of critical care.
Autoimmune associated diseases
Autoimmune conditions may coexist, look for these conditions in patients with an autoimmune disorder.
Anosmia DDx
Differential diagnosis of anosmia - loss of the sense of smell.
Urine Transparency
Freshly voided urine is clear and transparent. Cloudy urine may be caused by crystals, deposits, white cells, red cells, epithelial cells or fat globules. Further evaluation with centrifugation, microscopic examination, heating or with ether generally determines the cause of the turbidity.
Specific infections and causative organisms
Key infections, organisms and suggested treatments; antibiotic selection varies by geographic location and institution - consult local guidelines and sensitivity patterns
Anaphylaxis DDx
Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening, generalised or systemic hypersensitivity reaction. It is characterised by rapidly developing life-threatening airway (pharyngeal or laryngeal edema) and/or breathing (bronchospasm and tachypnea) and/or circulation (hypotension and tachycardia) problems usually associated with skin and mucosal changes.
Lower Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage DDx
Lower gastrointestinal haemorrhage is classically bleeding from below the ligament of Trietz (the suspensory muscle of duodenum that connects to the diaphragm), and is characterised by hematochezia (blood passed in or with the stools) or rectorrhagia (blood leaking from the rectum). Massive upper GI bleeding may also present with hematochezia.
Liver palpation abnormalities
Abnormalities of the liver detected on palpation include: firm and irregular liver, tenderness, and pulsatility. See also hepatomegaly and hepatosplenomegaly. Differential diagnosis
Rhabdomyolysis CCC
Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of skeletal muscle fibres with leakage of potentially toxic intracellular contents into the systemic circulation, characterised by elevated plasma creatine kinase, myoglobinuria and risk of renal impairment
FEAST and Paediatric Fluid Resuscitation
FEAST = Fluid Expansion As Supportive Therapy. Trial was a landmark study investigating the effects of fluid boluses in the resuscitation of febrile children with evidence of poor perfusion
Pharmacology and Critical Illness
In simple terms, pharmacodynamics is "how the drug effects the body" and pharmacokinetics is "how the body handles the drug"; changes also occur in obesity, pregnancy, old age and the very young which may each coexist with critical illness
Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines 2008
These guidelines (and this webpage) has been superseded by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines 2012