ICU Essentials
This mnemonic represents the classic urgent indications for dialysis:
What is AEIOU? Acidosis, electrolyte abnormalities, intoxications, volume overload, and uremia.
A patient becomes hypotensive shortly after surgery. They have tachycardia, cool clammy skin, and a decreasing hemoglobin. Wound site shows increased drainage.
What is hypovolemic shock due to postoperative hemorrhage?
Patients receiving liver transplants preserved on a machine perfusion pump often require this antifungal prophylaxis.
What is micafungin?
This scoring system, used in patients with rib fractures, combines pain level and inspiratory capacity to help guide triage and management decisions.
What is the PIC (Pain–Inspiratory Capacity) score?
This viscoelastic test helps guide blood product resuscitation by assessing clot formation in real time.
What is ROTEM?
A trauma patient is hypotensive with warm dry skin, bradycardia, and flaccid paralysis below the waist has this type of shock.
What is neurogenic shock?
These psychiatric medications are well known for lowering the seizure threshold.
What are bupropion (Wellbutrin) and clozapine?
This index, calculated from respiratory rate and tidal volume, is one of the most sensitive predictors of successful extubation.
What is the rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI)?
This condition is treated with systemic bivalirudin or prophylactic fondaparinux as alternatives to heparin.
What is heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)?
Sudden dyspnea, hypotension, clear lungs, and elevated JVP after surgery suggest this obstructive shock cause.
What is a pulmonary embolism?
This medication, a GABA-B agonist, is often used to treat refractory hiccups.
What is baclofen?
This method is considered the gold standard for determining a patient’s caloric needs in critical care.
What is indirect calorimetry?
This combination of medications forms the foundation of guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
ARNI/ACEi/ARB, beta blockers, MRA (spironolactone), SGLT2 inhibitors
Low SVR with high cardiac index is commonly seen in this type of shock.
What is septic shock?
This peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist is used to treat opioid-induced constipation.
What is methylnaltrexone?
Persistent blinking in response to repeated forehead tapping is this reflex, often seen in Parkinson disease.
What is the glabellar reflex?
Hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, hypocalcemia, and hyperphosphatemia are classic lab findings in this oncologic emergency.
What is tumor lysis syndrome?
This vasopressor is a pure alpha-1 agonist, causing peripheral vasoconstriction with minimal direct effect on heart rate or contractility.
What is phenylephrine?
This antibiotic is inactivated by pulmonary surfactant, making it ineffective for treating pneumonia.
What is daptomycin?
This reflex, elicited by stroking the thenar eminence and causing chin muscle contraction, suggests frontal lobe dysfunction.
What is the palmomental reflex?