Everything about ICU education
Ventilator Weaning: In most patients, mechanical ventilation can be discontinued as soon as the underlying reason for acute respiratory failure has been resolved. Hence, the first step in ventilator weaning is to reverse the process that caused the respiratory failure to begin with. However, 20-30% of patients are considered difficult to wean from ventilator. … Read more
Mechanical Ventilation: Respiratory failure is caused by failure to oxygenate (Type I respiratory failure), with resultant decreae in PO2 or failure to ventilate (Type II respiratory failure), with a resultant increase in PCO2. Breathing Pattern consists of a Control variable, Breath sequence and a targeting scheme. Ventilator can control only one variable at a time. Equation of Motion: … Read more
Acute Coronary Syndrome Unstable angina (UA), non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and STEMI are among the acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Stable angina pectoris is characterized by chest or arm discomfort that is reproducibly associated with physical exertion or stress and relieved within 5–10 minutes by rest and/or sublingual nitroglycerin. Unstable angina describes the occurrence of angina pectoris or equivalent ischemic discomfort … Read more
Pulmonary Embolism Acute PE can be classified as massive or submassive: Massive PE causes hypotension, defined as a systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg or a drop in systolic blood pressure of ≥40 mmHg from baseline for a period >15 minutes. It should be suspected anytime there is hypotension accompanied by an elevated central venous pressure … Read more
Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease A disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. It is characterized by airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gases. Emphysema: anatomically defined as abnormal and permanent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the … Read more
Asthma A chronic inflammatory disease of airways, characterized by increased responsiveness of the tracheobronchial tree to various stimuli Bronchospasm is a secondary phenomenon caused by the underlying inflammatory process. Manifested physiologically by widespread narrowing of the air passages, and clinically by paroxysms of dyspnea, cough, chest tightness and wheezing Etiology Airway hyperresponsiveness to both specific … Read more
DKA Diagnostic criteria Elevated sugars of >250 Ketonemia or ketonuria ( In early DKA, acetoacetate concentration is low and could be falsely negative. Conversely, β-OHB is an early and abundant ketoacid, which may first signal the development of DKA ) Acidosis with Ph<7.3 or Biacarb <18 Elevated anion gap Pathophysiology: There are two major hyperglycemic crises associated with … Read more
Sub-Arachnoid Hemorrhage Aneurysms occur most frequently at the bifurcations of the basal cerebral arteries, implying a hemodynamic effect to the vessel wall. Almost all of the SAH is due to ruptured berry aneurysms. Other important causes include trauma, cocaine abuse, AV malformations and vasculitis. HTN, smoking and HLP are strongly associated with development of aneurysms. Cause … Read more
Definition Stroke is defined as sudden onset of a neurologic deficit from a vascular mechanism. 85% of strokes are ischemic and 15% are primary hemorrhages (Subarachnoid and Intraparenchymal). Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are episodes of stroke symptoms that resolve rapidly, lasting fewer than 24 hours. However, infarcts of the brain do occur in 15–50% of TIAs even though neurologic signs and … Read more
Acute Pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition of the pancreas characterized clinically by abdominal pain and elevated levels of pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Two distinct phases of AP have now been identified: early (within 1 week), characterized by the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and / or organ failure; and late (> … Read more