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ICU
SAQs
ICU Fellowship (CICM)
ICU saqs
Second- and First-Part SAQs with model answers.
171
Units
67
Chapters
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Chapters · 67
Acid–base
3
Haematology / haemoglobinopathy
1
Neurocritical care / vascular
3
Environmental emergencies
7
GI & nutrition / surgical
2
Respiratory / ventilation
10
Endocrine & metabolic emergencies
7
Toxicology
14
Obstetric critical care
5
Resuscitation & shock
8
Resuscitation
7
Pharmacology / toxicology
1
Airway management
9
Infection / pharmacology
3
AKI & RRT
3
Trauma
2
Burns
7
Cardiovascular / pericardial
1
Raised ICP & TBI
3
Renal / RRT
3
Quality / safety
1
ICU-acquired infection
1
Ethics / communication
1
Statistics & evidence
1
Haematology / immunotherapy
1
Trauma & burns
2
ARDS & lung protection
4
Delirium & sleep
1
Basic sciences
1
Equipment, physics & clinical measurement
2
Respiratory / oxygen therapy
2
Infection / oncology
1
Oncology & immunocompromised
1
Haemodynamic monitoring
1
Renal / fluids
1
GI and nutrition / infection
1
Neurocritical care / neuromuscular
2
Pharmacology
1
Oxygen & gas exchange
3
Haematology / coagulation
3
Electrolytes
3
Sedation & paralysis
3
Cardiovascular / infection
1
Renal / acid-base
2
Respiratory / monitoring
1
Monitoring / ultrasound
1
Mechanical ventilation
4
Haematology / trauma
1
Pharmacology / electrolytes
1
Cardiovascular / shock
1
Infection / general
1
Neurocritical care / monitoring
2
Shock states
2
Ethics
1
Advanced respiratory support
1
Cardiovascular / perioperative
1
Sedation / procedural
1
Cardiovascular / ACS
1
Respiratory / acid-base
1
Arrhythmia & cardiac arrest
2
Ethics, EOL & communication
3
Post-cardiac arrest care
2
GI & nutrition
1
Physiology / endocrine
1
Equipment & physics
1
Haematology / transfusion
1
Haematology / oncology
1
01
Acid–base
3 entries
A systematic interpretation of a mixed blood gas
The differential of a high anion-gap metabolic acidosis
The role of sodium bicarbonate in severe metabolic acidaemia
02
Haematology / haemoglobinopathy
1 entry
Acute chest syndrome in sickle-cell disease — the leading cause of death
03
Neurocritical care / vascular
3 entries
Acute ischaemic stroke — thrombolysis and thrombectomy
Delayed cerebral ischaemia after SAH — diagnosis and management
Warfarin-related intracerebral haemorrhage — management
04
Environmental emergencies
7 entries
Acute radiation syndrome — the assessment
Chlorine gas inhalation — the management
Heat stroke — the rapid cooling
High-altitude pulmonary oedema — the management
Lightning strike — the reverse triage
Near-drowning — the respiratory and the neurological management
Severe accidental hypothermia — the rewarming and the resuscitation
05
GI & nutrition / surgical
2 entries
Acute variceal haemorrhage in a cirrhotic — resuscitation and the bundle
Severe acute pancreatitis — severity, fluids, and infected necrosis
06
Respiratory / ventilation
10 entries
Adjuncts for refractory hypoxaemia in severe ARDS
Cardiogenic pulmonary oedema vs ARDS — distinction and management
Inhaled pulmonary vasodilators — mechanism, use, and adverse effects
Massive haemoptysis — the four priorities
Massive pulmonary embolism — thrombolysis and escalation
Non-invasive ventilation for an acidotic COPD exacerbation
Principle and evidence for HFOV in adult ARDS
Tension pneumothorax and the chest drain
The physiology and technique of prone ventilation
Weaning from mechanical ventilation and the failed SBT
07
Endocrine & metabolic emergencies
7 entries
Adrenal crisis — the management
Diabetic ketoacidosis — the management
Pheochromocytoma crisis — the management
SIADH — the management
The endocrine derangements of the septic patient
The sulfonylurea-induced hypoglycaemia — the management
Thyroid storm — the management
08
Toxicology
14 entries
Alcohol withdrawal — the management
Cocaine toxicity with chest pain — the management
Iron overdose — the management
Lithium toxicity — the management
Paracetamol overdose — the assessment and the management
Salicylate poisoning — the management
Serotonin syndrome — the recognition and the management
Smoke-inhalation poisoning — CO and cyanide
Snake envenomation — the management
Superwarfarin (brodifacoum) poisoning — the management
TCA poisoning — the management
The GHB overdose — the management
Toxic alcohol poisoning — the management
Verapamil sustained-release overdose — the management
09
Obstetric critical care
5 entries
Amniotic fluid embolism — diagnosis and ICU management
Eclampsia — the management
Maternal sepsis — the management
Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy — the management
The physiology of pregnancy — the ICU relevance
10
Resuscitation & shock
8 entries
Anaphylaxis — the emergency management
Assessing the adequacy of resuscitation in septic shock
Cardiogenic shock — the haemodynamic management
Fluid responsiveness — the assessment
Haemorrhagic shock — damage control resuscitation
Massive transfusion and tranexamic acid in trauma
Neurogenic shock — the recognition and the management
Obstructive shock — the recognition and the emergency decompression
11
Resuscitation
7 entries
Antibiotics and source control in septic shock
Definitions of sepsis and septic shock
Early goal-directed therapy and its refiners — ProCESS and ARISE
Fluid responsiveness — when to give fluid, and how to judge it
Initial resuscitation of septic shock
The determinants of oxygen delivery
Trauma coagulopathy, DIC and the tranexamic acid clock
12
Pharmacology / toxicology
1 entry
Antidotes in common ICU overdose
13
Airway management
9 entries
Aspiration pneumonitis — management and differentiation
Emergency surgical airway — cricothyroidotomy
First Part — the pharmacology of neuromuscular blockade for RSI
Peri-intubation cardiovascular collapse
Rapid sequence intubation in a critically ill patient
RSI of a hypoxaemic, hypotensive patient
The failed airway — CICO and front-of-neck access
The failed intubation — your structured response
Tracheostomy tube displacement in the first week
14
Infection / pharmacology
3 entries
Beta-lactam choice in the severe sepsis and the beta-lactam allergy
Once-daily gentamicin — dosing, monitoring, and the toxicities
Vancomycin for the MRSA — dosing, the red-man, and the VANCO-ZOSYN AKI
15
AKI & RRT
3 entries
Bicarbonate in severe metabolic acidaemia and the management of hyperkalaemia
Dose and anticoagulation of continuous renal replacement therapy
Timing of renal replacement therapy in acute kidney injury
16
Trauma
2 entries
Blunt abdominal trauma — FAST, CT, and the non-operative vs laparotomy
Penetrating chest trauma with tamponade — Beck triad and the thoracotomy
17
Burns
7 entries
Burn assessment — TBSA, depth, and airway
Burn hypermetabolism — the nutritional and the pharmacological management
Burn resuscitation — the fluid management
Burn wound sepsis — the diagnosis and the management
Circumferential chest burn — the escharotomy
High-voltage electrical injury — the management
Smoke inhalation injury — the assessment and the management
18
Cardiovascular / pericardial
1 entry
Cardiac tamponade — features and management
19
Raised ICP & TBI
3 entries
Cerebral perfusion pressure, autoregulation and the Monro-Kellie doctrine
Decompressive craniectomy in traumatic brain injury
The secondary injury and the failed neuroprotective agents
20
Renal / RRT
3 entries
Choice of SLED for a haemodynamically marginal patient with AKI
CRRT — circuit clotting and the citrate complications
RRT modality choice in a haemodynamically unstable patient
21
Quality / safety
1 entry
CLABSI rate rising — the QI approach and the bundle
22
ICU-acquired infection
1 entry
Clostridioides difficile in the ICU
23
Ethics / communication
1 entry
Conflict over goals of care — the ethics framework and the mediation
24
Statistics & evidence
1 entry
Critical appraisal of an ICU trial — the SOAP II worked example
25
Haematology / immunotherapy
1 entry
CRS grade 3 after CAR-T — tocilizumab and the ICU management
26
Trauma & burns
2 entries
Damage-control resuscitation of the haemorrhaging trauma patient
The lethal triad — the pathophysiology of the bleeding trauma patient
27
ARDS & lung protection
4 entries
Defining and recognising ARDS (the Berlin definition)
Prone positioning in severe ARDS
Refractory hypoxaemia in severe ARDS — the rescue ladder
Respiratory mechanics and the 'baby lung' in ARDS
28
Delirium & sleep
1 entry
Delirium prevention and management in the ICU
29
Basic sciences
1 entry
Determinants of oxygen delivery and systemic vascular resistance
30
Equipment, physics & clinical measurement
2 entries
Diffusion and convection in renal replacement therapy
Humidification of the ventilated patient
31
Respiratory / oxygen therapy
2 entries
Escalating oxygen therapy in acute respiratory failure
High-flow nasal cannula in pneumonia with hypoxaemic failure
32
Infection / oncology
1 entry
Febrile neutropenia — 1 hour of triage
33
Oncology & immunocompromised
1 entry
Febrile neutropenia — the empirical antibiotic and the source search
34
Haemodynamic monitoring
1 entry
First Part — the physics of invasive arterial pressure monitoring
35
Renal / fluids
1 entry
Fluid overload after a septic-shock resuscitation — management
36
GI and nutrition / infection
1 entry
Fulminant C. difficile — diagnosis and management
37
Neurocritical care / neuromuscular
2 entries
Guillain-Barré syndrome — diagnosis and ICU management
Myasthenic crisis — diagnosis and ICU management
38
Pharmacology
1 entry
Heparin vs warfarin — mechanism, monitoring, and the onset
39
Oxygen & gas exchange
3 entries
High-flow nasal cannula and the oxygen-target question
Oxygen delivery, consumption and the Fick principle
The four mechanisms of hypoxaemia and the A-a gradient
40
Haematology / coagulation
3 entries
HIT — thrombocytopenia with thrombosis on day 7 of heparin
Massive PE with shock — thrombolysis or embolectomy?
Septic DIC — bleeding, thrombosis, and the management
41
Electrolytes
3 entries
Hyperkalaemia with ECG change — the fixed management sequence
Severe symptomatic hyponatraemia — hypertonic saline and the correction ceiling
Sodium, water and potassium — compartments, regulation and distribution
42
Sedation & paralysis
3 entries
ICU delirium — screening, prevention and management
Neuromuscular blockade in severe ARDS — ACURASYS versus ROSE
The pharmacology of ICU sedatives and analgesics
43
Cardiovascular / infection
1 entry
Infective endocarditis — diagnosis and management
44
Renal / acid-base
2 entries
Interpreting a mixed acid-base disorder — the septic vomiting patient
Metformin-associated lactic acidosis — recognition and management
45
Respiratory / monitoring
1 entry
Interpreting a rising peak airway pressure
46
Monitoring / ultrasound
1 entry
Lung and abdominal POCUS in the critically ill
47
Mechanical ventilation
4 entries
Lung-protective ventilation in ARDS
Respiratory mechanics: compliance, resistance and the time constant
The rising airway pressure
Weaning and liberation from mechanical ventilation
48
Haematology / trauma
1 entry
Major trauma with coagulopathy — the MTP, TXA, and the lethal triad
49
Pharmacology / electrolytes
1 entry
Management of severe hyperkalaemia with ECG changes
50
Cardiovascular / shock
1 entry
Mechanical circulatory support in refractory cardiogenic shock
51
Infection / general
1 entry
New fever on day 5 of the ICU — the workup
52
Neurocritical care / monitoring
2 entries
Non-convulsive status epilepticus — detection and management
PbtO2 monitoring in severe TBI — principles and role
53
Shock states
2 entries
Oxygen delivery and the four failures of shock
The classification and the haemodynamic profiles of shock
54
Ethics
1 entry
Pandemic ventilator allocation — the triage framework
55
Advanced respiratory support
1 entry
Post-extubation NIV — the prophylactic and the therapeutic
56
Cardiovascular / perioperative
1 entry
Postoperative complications — recognition and management
57
Sedation / procedural
1 entry
Procedural sedation for an ICU central-line insertion — safety
58
Cardiovascular / ACS
1 entry
STEMI with cardiogenic shock — management and evidence
59
Respiratory / acid-base
1 entry
Systematic interpretation of a metabolic acidosis ABG
60
Arrhythmia & cardiac arrest
2 entries
Targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest
The ALS algorithm — a cardiac arrest in the ICU
61
Ethics, EOL & communication
3 entries
The aeromedical retrieval — the physiological stressors of the flight
The four principles of bioethics
The limitation of treatment — withholding and withdrawing
62
Post-cardiac arrest care
2 entries
The coronary angiography after cardiac arrest — the COACT trial
TTM2 — hypothermia versus normothermia after cardiac arrest
63
GI & nutrition
1 entry
The gut mucosal barrier and the enteral nutrition
64
Physiology / endocrine
1 entry
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the stress response
65
Equipment & physics
1 entry
The pulse oximetry — the principle and the limitations
66
Haematology / transfusion
1 entry
TRALI vs TACO — the pulmonary reaction after the transfusion
67
Haematology / oncology
1 entry
Tumour lysis syndrome post-chemotherapy — rasburicase and the prophylaxis