O&G Vivas · Critical care — maternal physiology
Physiological changes of pregnancy for critical care — structured oral station (12 minutes)
A clinical viva on intubating a pregnant ICU patient: reduced FRC, difficult airway and aspiration risk, gastric emptying, aortocaval compression and pregnant blood-gas targets.
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Study tools
Target exams
FRANZCOGMRCOGABOG
Prompt
A woman at 30 weeks needs intubation in ICU for hypoxaemic respiratory failure.
The question
"A woman at 30 weeks is being intubated in ICU for hypoxaemic respiratory failure. What physiological changes of pregnancy matter, and what do you do about them?"[1]
References3ShowHide
- [1]Costantine MM Physiologic and pharmacokinetic changes in pregnancy. Frontiers in pharmacology, 2014.PMID 24772083
- [2]Chu J, Johnston TA, Geoghegan J, et al. Maternal Collapse in Pregnancy and the Puerperium: Green-top Guideline No. 56. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 2020.PMID 31845507
- [3]Lawson J, Howle R, Popivanov P, et al. Gastric emptying in pregnancy and its clinical implications: a narrative review. British journal of anaesthesia, 2025.PMID 39443186