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Core Topics in ICU
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CICM Part II Revision Notes and SAQs
CICM Part II Past Papers
Recently Updated Questions
Question 7 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Differences between neonatal and adult airways
Question 6 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
The oxygen content of mixed venous blood
Question 5 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Pharmacology of antiarrhythmics: digoxin
Question 3 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Pharmacology of neuromuscular junction blockers: speed of onset
Question 2 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Physiological effects of a 2L haemorrhage
Question 4 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Regulation of blood glucose
Question 1 - 2009, Paper 2 SAQs;
Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance
Question 9 - 2009, Paper 1 SAQs;
End-tidal CO2 measurement: causes of the EtCO2-PaCO2 gap
Question 1(p.2) - 2009, Paper 1 SAQs;
Regulation of glomerular filtrate (volume and composition)
Question 12(p.2) - 2009, Paper 1 SAQs;
Drug transfer across the placenta
Recently Updated Material
Lewis' definition, and the modern concept of acids and bases
Monday, June 8 (2015); Arterial Blood Gas Interpretation
The IUPAC definition incorporates both the Brønsted and the Lewis models of acids and bases. Thus, an acid is "a molecular entity or chemical species capable of donating a hydron (proton) or capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair." The two models are complimentary, and coexist easily in the complex minds of chemists, as they are useful for different situations.
The Brønsted-Lowry definition of acids and bases
Monday, June 8 (2015); Arterial Blood Gas Interpretation
According to Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and Thomas Lowry, an acid is a substance from which a proton can be removed, and a A base is a substance that can remove a proton from an acid. Reduced to its essence the definition specifies that an acid only exists as an acid in relation to a base, and vice versa. This definition was arrived at more or less simultaneously in 1923 by these two researchers. Brønsted wrote an article announcing his views on the theoretical explanations of acids and bases, whereas Lowry wrote a long letter to the editor of the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, serenading the uniqueness of hydrogen.
Basic foundations of acid-base chemistry for the intensivist
Monday, June 8 (2015); Arterial Blood Gas Interpretation
The acidity of your precious bodily fluids is a carefully guarded parameter. To allow this parameter to deviate out of a very narrow range would massively impair your capacity to continue living. Basic molecular services would break down. Cellular anarchy would ensue. In order for the ICU physician to wrest a form of order from this chaos, a reasonable grasp of basic acid-base chemistry is expected. An excellent medically themed foundation for acid-base chemistry is laid by Kerry Brandis in a highly acclaimed series of online articles, to which I will constantly refer. It is not my intention to supercede this resource, as it remains canonical for all critical care trainees.