ICUedu is an educational podcast series focused on emergency critical care fundamentals, created and hosted by Dr. Sara Crager, an emergency physician and intensivist.
With clinical appointments at UCLA and Antelope Valley Medical Center, Sara brings a wealth of experience to the series, aiming to demystify complex critical care concepts through concise, high-yield discussions.
This episode tackles the difficult question of when to intubate COVID patients, shifting focus from oxygen numbers to work of breathing and lung protection. Key teaching point: Watch neck and shoulder movement, not just numbers.
Portal hypertension, vasoplegia, encephalopathy, GI bleed, SBP, HRS—this episode gives a practical, system-based guide to managing the sick cirrhotic. Key teaching point: SBP exam may be benign—tap early.
Why intubate? This episode reframes mechanical ventilation as crutches for the lungs—and explains why sometimes, it may do more harm than good. Key teaching point: Always ask: is this lung, airway, metabolic, or hemodynamic?.
This preface sets the stage for Vents 201—framing ventilator management as art + science and urging clinicians to separate goals from targets in patient care. Key teaching point: Ventilators are like crutches—they support healing, not fix pathology.
Patient fighting the vent? This episode walks through waveform clues, pressure support strategies, and when to sedate or paralyse to solve dyssynchrony. Key teaching point: Use pressure support to diagnose comfort issues.
Can you tell if it’s the ball or the straw? This episode explains resistance and compliance using pressure readings—and how to tell what’s really wrong with your patient. Key teaching point: High peak with normal plateau = resistance issue.
This episode teaches core vent management strategies for ARDS, asthma, and extra-pulmonary intubation using a physiology-first approach. Key teaching point: Watch waveform for breath stacking.
Tidal volume × rate = CO₂. PEEP + FiO₂ = O₂. This episode explains vent basics, mode logic, breath stacking, and why height—not weight—matters. Key teaching point: Breath stacking = short exhalation time.
This episode introduces compliance, resistance, shunt, dead space, and V/Q mismatch—essential physiology before touching a ventilator. Key teaching point: Compliance: beach ball vs basketball; Resistance: boba vs coffee straw.
Vent alarms decoded. This episode covers peak vs plateau pressure, mode-specific alarms, and a stepwise approach to vent hypoxia. Key teaching point: Check plateau pressure before acting.
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