9: Caring for patients harmed by treatment
(ADAPTED FROM VINCENT, 2001) Mrs Long suffered a series of avoidable surgical complications over a period of several months which left her in considerable pain. Traumatic experiences, chronic pain and…
1: Medical harm: a brief history
The cure can be worse than the disease Medicine has always been an inherently risky enterprise, the hopes of benefit and cure always linked to the possibility of harm. The…
7: Human error and systems thinking
The lessons of major accidents Our understanding of how the events preceding a disaster unfold has been greatly expanded in the last 20 years by the careful examination of a…
2: The emergence of patient safety
Improving the quality of healthcare Unless substantial progress had been made in the understanding and practice of quality improvement, it is highly unlikely that the tougher issues underlying patient safety…
Cardiology
A. Acute pericarditis; perform an echocardiogram in 1 week to confirm diagnosis B. Acute pericarditis; start a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) C. Acute pericarditis; start prednisolone D. ST elevation myocardial…
Rheumatology
Value Reference ranges Haemoglobin (g/L) 108 115–155 Creatinine (μmol/L) 210 60–100 C-reactive protein (mg/L) 80 <10 A. Systemic lupus erythematosus; anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) B. Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis; anti-streptolysin O titre (ASOT)…
Respiratory and sleep medicine
ValueReference range pH7.477.35–7.45 PaCO2 (mmHg)4935–45 PaO2 (mmHg)5680–110 Bicarbonate (mmol/L)3322–35 Base excess8.8 Oxygen saturation (%)89>93 A. 33 B. 12 C. 56 D. 89 E. 8 12. Which one of the following…
Nephrology
On examination he looks pale, his blood pressure is 98/68 mmHg and his pulse rate is 89 beats/min. His heart sounds are normal, but there are bilateral crackles on auscultation…
Statistics, epidemiology and research
Copyright © 2009 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. A. The width of the horizontal lines in each study indicates the risk ratio for each study…
General medicine, geriatric medicine and other topics
ValueReference range Arterial pH7.507.35–7.45 Sodium (mmol/L)146137–145 Potassium (mmol/L)2.73.2–4.5 Bicarbonate (mmol/L)3726–35 Creatinine (μmol/L)9750–100 C-reactive protein (mg/L)2.1<10 Plasma renin (μIU/mL)2.17.0–50.0 33. A 48-year-old woman presents with headache, blurred vision and palpitations. She…
