CCC Critical Care Compendium 680
Urea

Urea (Blood Urea Nitrogen – BUN) is the chief end product of protein metabolism. it is formed in the liver from ammonia and excreted by the kidneys. Urea accounts for 50% of serum non-protein nitrogen Causes of Increased serum urea…

CCC Critical Care compendium 340
Arterial Blood Gas Sample

Indications: Evaluate the adequacy of ventilation, acid–base status, and oxygenation. Evaluate the patient’s response to therapy and/or diagnostic evaluation (e.g. oxygen delivery). Monitor severity and progression of a known disease process. Contraindications: Modified Allen test gives a negative result, indicating…

CCC Critical Care compendium 340
Regional citrate anticoagulation

Regional Citrate Anticoagulation is the infusion of citrate into the blood circuit during renal replacement therapy (RRT) to chelate ionized Ca2+ forming calcium-citrate complexes, thus preventing coagulation of blood; calcium is required for the generation of thrombin (involved in the activation of factors II, IX and X)

CCC Critical Care compendium 340
Malignant Hyperthermia

Malignant Hyperthermia = pharmacogenetic disease of skeletal muscle induced by exposure to certain anaesthetic agents; incidence 1:5,000 -> 1:65,000 anaesthetics (suspected); mutation in the gene coding for the ryanodine receptor

CCC Critical Care compendium 340
Evidence-based Toxicology

Much of what we do in toxicology is because we think it works, not because we know it works. Clinical toxicology has traditionally been based on animal studies, case reports and case series based on clinical observation rather than clinical trials

CCC Critical Care compendium 340
Iron Overdose

Iron overdose can have local gastrointestinal effects as well as characteristic systemic toxicity (metabolic acidosis, liver failure, shock and multi-organ failure). Risk assessment is based on the amount of elemental iron ingested