Tom, one of my colleagues from the Critical Care Outreach Team and I discuss this paper and its findings reaching our own conclusions. Deferring Arterial Catheterisation in Patients with Septic Shock.
Read More
We return to our 48-year-old patient: jaundiced, hypotensive, drowsy, and bleeding. In decompensated cirrhosis, every treatment targets a disrupted system — splanchnic vasodilation, portal hypertension, toxin accumulation, and renal hypoperfusion.Although these patients look fluid overloaded, they are effectively hypovolaemic. Start with small aliquots of balanced crystalloid, avoiding 0.9% saline. In hepatorenal syndrome or tense ascites, 20% albumin is
Read More
In this episode, I walk through the real-world critical care management of acute decompensated alcohol-related liver disease, using a high-risk ICU case to anchor the discussion. The focus is on understanding the underlying physiology—portal hypertension, rebalanced haemostasis, hepatic encephalopathy, infection, and hepatorenal syndrome—and translating that physiology into clear first-hour priorities at the bedside. Listeners are
Read More