An intensivist on a learning frenzy. Caring for the critically ill using evidence-based medicine.
Taking a quick COVID break, we've had enough of that for now. Let's get back to some simple critical care basics: measuring blood pressure in the ICU. We do this on all of our patients at least hourly for the stable patients. It is performed continuously on our unstable patients. Ultimately, though, we need to …
Continue reading Standard Blood Pressure Measurements in the Critically Ill ICU population
Are soft drinks associated with increased mortality? This study is trying to tell me that soft drinks, whether they are diet or sweetened by sugar are associated with higher mortality? I honestly can't say I'm surprised. Glad I'm not investing in the Coca Cola company. I personally do not drink sodas but I do indulge …
Continue reading Soft drinks: are they associated with increased mortality?
A few days ago I discussed how the resuscitator, BVM, aka "the ambu" could provide extremely high volumes, up to 1600cc if you get every last cc of O2 out of there, and therefore cause harm to your patient. A new buddy of mine via instagram, Matt, sent me a link to this article discussing this …
Continue reading Pediatric BVM/resuscitator bags in adults? Could this possibly work?
The quick and easy answer to how much volume is in the BVM ventilation bag (the part you squeeze) in an adult resuscitator is 1600ml.You hear the alarm go through the hospital "CODE BLUE in room XYZ". You, like me, are an ambulance chaser and want to get there as soon as possible to either …
Continue reading How much volume is in an adult resuscitator (BVM)? 1600ml
This an open access from the AHA regarding management of Cardiogenic Shock. This is good stuff. There's nothing brand new (to me at least) but it's always good have the (mostly) updated data in one place. Of course, I'm solely going to touch on the topics of Medical Management because I can't perform PCI nor …
Continue reading Cardiogenic Shock per the American Heart Association (AHA)