Consider Respiratory Variation on the Arterial-Line Monitor Tracing as a Sign of Hypovolemia James F. Weller MD During the inspiratory phase of spontaneous ventilation, negative intrathoracic pressure leads to augmentation…
Do not Place Femoral Arterial Lines or Venous Catheters Above the Inguinal Ligament or Below the Thigh Crease Susanna L. Matsen MD The majority of intensive care patients require arterial…
Do not use Cooling Blankets to Cool Iosifina Giannakikou MD A patient that “needs to be cooled” is not an infrequent occurrence in the intensive care unit (ICU). In order…
Know the Pacemaker Alphabet Soup Elizabeth A. Martinez MD, MHS Critically ill patients may require urgent or emergent pacing at any time during their hospital course. This may occur more…
Put a Board under the Patient when doing Chest Compressions Elizabeth A. Hunt MD, MPH Cameron Dezfulian MD Chest compressions have long been considered one of the critical elements of…
Do not use the 3 or 5 Lead ECG Monitor as a 12-lead Electrocardiogram Tuhin K. Roy MD, PHD Continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring is a standard monitor utilized for the…
Do not Rule Out the Presence of A Myocardial Infarction by a Normal Electrocardiogram Jose M. Rodriguez-Paz MD One of the most challenging clinical scenarios that we encounter in clinical…
Turn off the Synchronization Mode on the Defibrillator if there is no Recognized R Wave Nirav G. Shah MD The difference between cardioversion and defibrillation is based on whether the…
Place the Defibrillator in Synchronous Mode when Cardioverting Angela D. Shoher MD Electrical cardioversion is used to manage patients with cardiac arrhythmias that involve re-entrant circuits, such as ventricular tachycardia…
Know the Backup Mechanism of Action and Requirements for Electrical Cardioversion and Anticoagulation for Ventricular Assist Devices Elizabeth A. Martinez MD, MHS More than 2 million Americans have congestive heart…
