Category Medical Specialty

Reye syndrome

Description History 1929 – First recorded 1963 – Reye, Morgan and Baral published in Lancet 1964 – George Johnson published after Influenza B outbreak 1979 – Starko et al statistically-significant link between aspirin use and Reye syndrome 1980 – CDC…

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Antibiotic Guidelines in ICU

Antibiotic guidelines vary between ICUs. This variation is based on local causes of infections, resistance patterns, availability and patient factors. However, the principles of appropriate use of antibiotics are universal... as are the common errors!

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Pulseless Electrical Activity

Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) occurs when organised or semi-organised electrical activity of the heart persists but the product of systemic vascular resistance and the increase in systemic arterial flow generated by the ejection of the left ventricular stroke volume is not sufficient to produce a clinically detectable pulse

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Thoracic Trauma

Assessment of thoracic trauma requires the identification of immediately life-threatening injuries on primary survey, and delayed life threats on secondary survey.

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Finger Thoracostomy

Finger Thoracostomy: Any pneumothorax in a patient undergoing positive pressure ventilation; Actual or near traumatic cardiac arrest; Shocked state with no apparent cause; Pleural drainage is not indicated in drowning or hangings unless pneumothorax is diagnosed. Remember pleural decompression will reduce the efficiency of the ACD and impedance valve

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Extremity Injuries

The most important extremity injuries are those that are either life-threatening or limb-threatening in nature such as Pelvic disruption with massive hemorrhage; Severe arterial hemorrhage; and Crush syndrome

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Frailty syndrome

Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by loss of physiologic and cognitive reserves in vulnerability that predisposes to the accumulation of deficits and adverse outcomes from acute stressors

CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Pelvic Stabilization

Pelvic stabilization is an important simple intervention in the management of severe pelvic trauma, and has 4 main objectives: Prevent re-injury from pathological pelvic motion (most important clinically); Decrease pelvic volume; Tamponade bleeding pelvic bones and vessels; Decrease pain

CCC Critical Care Compendium 680

Post-Splenectomy Care

Post-splenectomy patients are at increased risk of infection from encapsulated organisms which can (very rarely) lead to overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis (OPSS); have distinctive findings on full blood count (FBC) and the blood film