As prepared by Chris Nickson, here are the practice written questions from a recent CICM Second Part exam practice session at The Alfred ICU, with recommended reading from LITFL.com Critical Care Compendium and other FOAM sources:
Q1.
What is your approach to the management of a fire in the ICU? (100%)
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Q2.
You are referred a 35 year-old female from the emergency department. She was feeling suicidal and states she has ingested 50 x 600mg “Slow K” tablets.
Outline your approach to the management of this case. (100%)
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Q3.
Q3.
A 45 year-old man presents with seizures and severe hypomagnesaemia (0.2 mmol/L). He was previously well except for a past medical history of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GORD).
a) What is the likely underlying cause? (10%)
b) What is the explanation for the findings on his blood tests shown below? (30%)
Na | 137 | 135-145 mmol/L |
K | 2.5 | 3.5-4.5 mmol/L |
Cl | 90 | 100-110 mmol/L |
HCO3 | 40 | 22-32 mmol/L |
glucose | 5.0 | 3-6 mmol/L |
Urea | 8 | 3-8 mmol/L |
Creatinine | 75 | 50-120 umol/L |
Calcium (total) | 1.7 | 2.1-2.5 mmol/L |
Phosphate | 0.85 | 0.7-1.3 mmol/L |
Albumin | 36 | 35-50 g/L |
c) What are the clinical manifestations of severe hypomagnesaemia? (40%)
d) In general terms, why is some degree of hypomagnaesaemia common among ICU patients? (20%)
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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:
//intensiveblog.com/resources/#3