Sterile Field Guide

EP23: Acute Pancreatitis (Pt. 1)

We are on a pancreas journey! In this episode, we talk about the MANY etiologies of pancreatitis, the diagnostic workup, scoring systems (and a little dismantling of the Ranson Criteria throne), and the management of pancreatitis. Next week, we'll be talking about some specific pancreatitis complications before we move on to neoplasms in the pancreas. Hope you enjoy!

EP22: Applying for Residency - an ERAS tour of sorts

Not the ERAS tour you wanted but the ERAS tour you deserved. In this week's episode, we're talking about the process of applying to residency (specifically general surgery residency, but a lot of what we talk about generally applies to most application processes) and how you can start getting organized at different stages of your training. In summary, don't panic, this is doable and you know most of the answers already :) I hope you find this helpful -- be sure to ask questions you still have on our instagram (@sterilefieldguide)

EP21: ARDS Lung Protective Ventilation

Hey friends! In episode 21, we go over acute respiratory distress syndrome diagnostic criteria, risk factors, and management. A big part of ARDS management is appropriate ventilation. Ventilation strategies for ARDS have been called "lung protective ventilation" or "low tidal volume ventilation" (LTVV) and have intricacies that are helpful to be aware of. Some of these intricacies include tidal volume calculations, PEEP requirements, and the possibility of proning. We talk a lot about proning and the data behind prone ventilation, the contraindications to proning, and how to keep your patients safe while doing prone ventilation. Hope you learn something new in this episode!

EP20: Ventilator Settings

Hey friends! In this episode, we take some time to talk about the basics of oxygenation and ventilation and how ventilators work. Specifically, we will cover volume control, pressure control, PRVC, pressure support, and assist control and SIMV adjuncts. After learning about the basics of ventilator settings, we dive into plans that you as a medical student might start to suggest. "Wean to extubate" and "wean vent settings" are commonly thrown around but what does this mean? We cover "minimals" or minimal ventilator settings, spontaneous awakening trials (and the data supporting them!), and spontaneous breathing trials. Hope you learn something new! Be sure to check out the instagram for more information (@sterilefieldguide).

EP19: Shock & its management

Continuing on with our critical care series, in this episode, we are talking about types of shock and the management of these types of shock. There are a lot of hemodynamic changes to keep track of for clinical diagnosis (as well as your boards exams), but don't worry, there will be a neat little table (as well as some other resources) available on the instagram (@sterilefieldguide) for your review. We will talk about cardiogenic, obstructive, hypovolemic, and distributive shock in this episode as well as review a few of the NINETY-THREE recommendations made by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (found here for your perusal: https://journals.lww.com/ccmjournal/fulltext/2021/11000/surviving_sepsis_campaign__international.21.aspx). Enjoy!