Critical Care - Anaesthetics Flashcards
what is critical care?
What is “Critical care”? “Levels” of care are normally talked of. So 0 is primary care; 1 is ward-based;
2 is HDU; and 3 is ITU. Another way of putting it is to do with organ support. So level 2 (HDU) is singleorgan
support; level 3 (ITU) is multi-organ support. Both of these can be classed as “Critical care”. The
exception to the organ support rule is with A & B - if you needed invasive ventilation, you need to
come to ITU. It looks complicated. It isn’t. A lot of it involves fiddling with some basic physiology whilst
waiting for the patient to get better themselves.
what things should make you concerned about an airway compromise?
see-saw breathing
tracheal tug
silent patient
stridor
what are the simple airway manoeuvres?
head tilt, chin lift, jaw thrust
oropharyngeal airway
what is the most sensitive marker of a deteriorating patient?
resp rate
how can you give oxygen?
high flow nasal cannula
CPAP
intubation and ventilation
ECMO
if CO2 removal is an issue what is the best way to deal with this?
ventilation
what kind of drugs speed up the heart?
chronotropes
what kind of drugs increase contractility of the heart?
inotropes
what king of drugs increase the after load?
vasopressors
what kind of drugs increase preload?
fluids
how do vasopressors work?
alpha-1 agonists
constrict blood vessels, predominantly veins
how do inotropes work?
beta-1 agonists
improve contractility
how are inotropes normally given?
central lines
at what GCS should you consider intubation?
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