Standard Precautions
Previously known by various names including "universal precautions", standard precautions are designed to reduce the risk of microorganism transfer from both recognised and unrecognised sources to a susceptible host.
Category LITFL
Léon Clément Le Fort
Léon Clément Le Fort (1829 – 1893) was a French surgeon. Eponym: Wagstaffe-Le Fort fracture (1886); Le Fort Operation for uterine prolapse; Le Fort amputation; Le Fort Male Catheter; and Le Fort sound. Godfather of FOAM 'Liberté de l'enseignement'
Pulmonary Artery Catheter
Pulmonary Artery Catheter aka Swan-Ganz catheter (or 'the yellow snake'); continuous cardiac output monitoring; pulmonary artery pressure and more...
John Birkett
John Birkett (1815-1904) was an English general surgeon.
Bispectral Index (BIS) Monitoring
Bispectral Index (BIS) Monitoring: BIS monitor was developed by Aspect Medical Systems; BIS = bispectral index; other 'depth of anaesthesia' monitors exist (e.g. Entropy)
Standard precautions CCC
Standard precautions are work practices that provide a first-line approach to infection prevention in the healthcare environment.
Pleural Tap
Pleural Tap: Thoracocentesis; Diagnostic - determine the cause of pleural effusion. Therapeutic - remove excess pleural fluid to assist respiration and provide symptomatic relief.
Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Overview
Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) or intra-aortic counterpulsation device the balloon is inflated during diastole to increase coronary perfusion and then deflated during systole to decrease afterload
The Doct-Aviator
Much has been said about how medicine should strive to emulate the enviable safety record of the aviation industry. This has led to a thorough examination of how the two “industries” compare and contrast. One of the more interesting comparisons…
Role of the Consultant
A simple question – what is the chief function of the consultant? The answer is probably the same, regardless of what you mean by ‘consultant’. In the anglo-antipodean world ‘consultant’ typically means a doctor who has completed their specialty exams…
A Mortal Battle with Four Hour Medicine II
The unexpected collides with 4 hour rule in the natural laboratory for error that is the emergency department… Act II and epilogue
Are you Satisficed?
Review these chest radiographs of an ICU patient with respiratory deterioration. What has been missed? What cognitive bias contributed to the error?