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 = 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
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
These guidelines (and this webpage) has been superseded by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines 2012
Bone R.C. et al (1987) “A controlled clinical trial of high dose methylprednisolone in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock” NEJM, 317:653-658 PMID 3306374 RCT n = 382 with sepsis and organ dysfunction methylprednisolone (30mg/kg) vs placebo-> no…
Septic embolism involves two insults: the early embolic/ischaemic insult due to vascular occlusion; and the infectious insult from a deep-seated nidus of infection
The RAPTOR suite is hybrid unit designed for both interventional radiology and operative interventions. RAPTOR is acronym for 'Resuscitation with angiography, percutaneous techniques and operative repair'
The ‘golden hour’ is term often used in trauma to suggest that an injured patient has 60 minutes from time of injury to receive definitive care, after which morbidity and mortality significantly increase
cholecystitis = inflammation of the gall bladder; causes: mechanical, chemical and infectious -> mucosal injury; complications: pancreatitis, ascending cholangitis, gall bladder empyema, gangrene
Potentially lethal electrical injury due to lightning exposure; 24,000 deaths/ year worldwide
Smoke is a complicated heterogeneous mixture of potentially toxic gases, chemical fumes, asphyxiants and particulate debris. Smoke inhalation is commonly seen in patients with burns as a result of fire; it is associated with high morbidity and mortality
Prevention of electrocution in the hospital setting