Here are the practice questions from today’s written exam practice session at The Alfred ICU, with recommended reading from Lifeinthefastlane.com’s Critical Care Compendium:
Q1.
A 65 year-old male arrives in ICU following CAGS x4 with an open chest.
a) What are the possible indications for open chest management and delayed sternal closure in this case? (30%)
b) Explain the rationale for this approach and the implications for management in the ICU (70%)
Learn more here:
Q2.
A 50 year-old man has had a third MET call in 24 hours for fever and tachycardia. He is 8 days post-induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia and has a neutrophil count of 0.1 x 10E9/L. He has no comorbidities. His observations at present are T39C (axillary), P150/min, BP 90/55 mmHg, RR 25/min, SpO2 95%OA. He is alert and orientated with no focal neurological deficits.
Outline your approach to management of this case over the next 24 hours.
Learn more here:
- http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ccc/febrile-neutropaenia/
- http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ccc/initial-sepsis-management/
Q3.
Regarding transthoracic echocardiography of critically ill patients:
a) Describe how imaging of the inferior vena cava (IVC) can be used to estimate central venous pressure during spontaneous breathing (30%)
b) Describe the differences in echocardiographic appearance of a “pressure-loaded” right ventricle and a “volume-loaded” right ventricle (30%)
c) List the echocardiographic features of pericardial tamponade (40%)
Learn more here:
You can access all the previous practice questions since 2014 here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Ta8IvVaVtc5Il7-kJwj6qKGu54OmifJGRUWCXud8dY/edit
See this link on INTENSIVE for exam resources:
https://intensiveblog.com/resources/#3