Critical pathways project

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ayokunle Olubaniyi, M.B,B.S [2]

Overview

The critical pathways project is focused on creating standardized treatment protocols for the management of medical conditions by applying evidence-based medical approaches to patient care. With the use of critical pathways, a health care giver can rapidly determine the treatment goals of a specific medical condition and institute appropriate actions in a chronological sequence with optimal efficiency. This project is intended for interns, residents, attending physicians, hospitalists, specialists, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners to contribute their expertise. This project aims at improving the quality of making diagnoses and treating medical conditions, reducing the variability in treatment, and to improve the overall quality of patient care. WikiDoc welcomes your involvement in contributing to this project.

Goals

• To improve the quality of making diagnoses and treating medical conditions.
• To standardize health care processes.
• To reduce the occurrence of medical errors.
• To optimize treatment outcomes in acute and home care settings.
• To limit the over-utilization of health care resources thereby reducing cost.
• To improve the overall quality of health care.

Who Can Contribute?

The critical pathways project is intended for health professionals with a good medical knowledge, and preferably, with a prior residency training and experience. You are welcome to apply if you are an intern, resident, attending physician, specialist, nurse or a nurse practitioner.

How to Get Started

Select a Topic

A topic of interest is selected from the Resident Survival Guide Page and a name is assigned next to it.

Topic	Resident Survival Guide Page	Authorship
Abdominal pain	Abdominal pain critical pathways	Add name here)
Abnormal Liver function tests	Abnormal Liver function tests critical pathways
Acetaminophen overdose	Acetaminophen overdose critical pathways
Acidosis	Acidosis critical pathways
Acute coronary syndrome	Acute coronary syndrome critical pathways
Acute decompensated heart failure	Acute decompensated heart failure critical pathways
Acute kidney injury	Acute kidney injury critical pathways
Acute liver failure	Acute liver failure critical pathways
Acute meningitis and encephalitis	Acute meningitis and encephalitis critical pathways
Acute pain management	Acute pain management critical pathways
Acute pancreatitis	Acute pancreatitis critical pathways
Acute pulmonary edema	Acute pulmonary edema critical pathways
Acute respiratory distress syndrome	Acute respiratory distress syndrome critical pathways
Acute vision loss	Acute vision loss critical pathways
Adrenal insufficiency	Adrenal insufficiency critical pathways
Agitation	Agitation critical pathways
Alcohol withdrawal	Alcohol withdrawal critical pathways
Alkalosis	Alkalosis critical pathways
Altered mental status	Altered mental status critical pathways
Anaphylaxis	Anaphylaxis critical pathways
Anemia	Anemia critical pathways
Arrhythmia	Arrhythmia critical pathways
Arthritis	Arthritis critical pathways
Ascites	Ascites critical pathways
Asthma	Asthma exacerbation critical pathways
Atrial fibrillation	Atrial fibrillation critical pathways
Back pain	Back pain critical pathways
Bleeding disorders	Bleeding critical pathways
Bradycardia	Bradycardia critical pathways
Brain death	Brain death critical pathways
Carbon monoxide poisoning	Carbon monoxide poisoning critical pathways
Cardiac arrest	Cardiac arrest critical pathways
Chemotherapy toxicity	Chemotherapy toxicity critical pathways
Chest pain	Chest pain critical pathways
Cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis	Cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis critical pathways
COPD exacerbation	COPD exacerbation critical pathways
Cocaine overdose	Cocaine overdose critical pathways
Congestive heart failure	Congestive heart failure critical pathways
Constipation	Constipation critical pathways
Contrast-induced nephropathy	Contrast-induced nephropathy critical pathways
Deep vein thrombosis	Deep vein thrombosis critical pathways
Diabetic ketoacidosis	Diabetic ketoacidosis critical pathways
Diarrhea	Diarrhea critical pathways
Dizziness	Dizziness critical pathways
Dysphagia	Dysphagia critical pathways
Dyspnea	Dyspnea critical pathways
Endocarditis	Endocarditis critical pathways
Fever	Fever critical pathways
Gastrointestinal bleeding	Gastrointestinal bleeding critical pathways
Headache	Headache critical pathways
Hematuria	Hematuria critical pathways
Hemoptysis	Hemoptysis critical pathways
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia	Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia critical pathways
Hiccup	Hiccup critical pathways
Hypercalcemia	Hypercalcemia critical pathways
Hyperglycemia	Hyperglycemia critical pathways
Hyperkalemia	Hyperkalemia critical pathways
Hypernatremia	Hypernatremia critical pathways
Empiric antibiotic regimen	Empiric antibiotic regimen critical pathways
Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state	Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state critical pathways
Hyperphosphatemia	Hyperphosphatemia critical pathways
Hypertensive crisis	Hypertension critical pathways
Hyperthermia	Hyperthermia critical pathways
Hypocalcemia	Hypocalcemia critical pathways
Hypoglycemia	Hypoglycemia critical pathways
Hypokalemia	Hypokalemia critical pathways
Hypomagnesemia	Hypomagnesemia critical pathways
Hyponatremia	Hyponatremia critical pathways
Hypophosphatemia	Hypophosphatemia critical pathways
Hypotension	Hypotension critical pathways
Hypothermia	Hypothermia critical pathways
Hypoxemia	Hypoxemia critical pathways
Ileus	Ileus critical pathways
Infection control	Infection control critical pathways
Influenza	Influenza critical pathways
Insomnia	Insomnia critical pathways
Low urine output	Low urine output critical pathways
Metabolic acidosis	Metabolic acidosis critical pathways
Metabolic alkalosis	Metabolic alkalosis critical pathways
Narcotic withdrawal	Narcotic withdrawal critical pathways
Nausea and vomiting	Nausea and vomiting critical pathways
Neutropenic fever	Neutropenic fever critical pathways
Nosocomial infection	Nosocomial infection critical pathways
Oncologic emergencies	Oncologic emergencies critical pathways
Overdose	Overdose critical pathways
Pericarditis	Pericarditis critical pathways
Pneumonia	Pneumonia critical pathways
Pulmonary embolism	Pulmonary embolism critical pathways
Rash	Rash critical pathways
Respiratory acidosis	Respiratory acidosis critical pathways
Respiratory alkalosis	Respiratory alkalosis critical pathways
Respiratory failure	Respiratory failure critical pathways
Seizure	Seizure critical pathways
Sepsis	Sepsis critical pathways
Shock	Shock critical pathways
Sickle cell crisis	Sickle cell crisis critical pathways
Spinal cord compression	Spinal cord compression critical pathways
Stroke	Stroke critical pathways
Subarachnoid hemorrhage	Subarachnoid hemorrhage critical pathways
Syncope	Syncope critical pathways
Tachycardia	Tachycardia critical pathways
Thrombocytopenia	Thrombocytopenia critical pathways
Thyroid storm	Thyroid storm critical pathways
Transfusion	Transfusion critical pathways
Tricyclic antidepressant overdose	Tricyclic antidepressant overdose critical pathways
Urinary tract infection	Urinary tract infection critical pathways
Vertigo	Vertigo critical pathways
Wide complex tachycardia	Wide complex tachycardia critical pathways

Next Steps

• Use the algorithm in the Resident Survival Guide of the selected topic as reference.

First branching point

Answer 1

Answer 2

• Use the first branching point on the algorithm as a guide for constructing the first question.
• Provide answers to the question. There could be two or more answers to this question.
• Link provided answers to corresponding pages on WikiDoc.
• Give Definitions and Action Items for the first question. Please add references when necessary.
• Use the second branching point after each answer as a reference for the second question.
• Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5.
• After finishing the critical pathways, add the Critical Pathways icon in the Main Page by using the following wikicode.

Structure of the Critical Pathways

The structure of the critical pathways looks like this:

Topic from the resident survival guide

First question

Answer 1

Answer 2

Definition

• The definition of the answers must be provided and referenced when possible. For example:
• Metabolic acidosis is a state in which the blood pH is less than 7.35 due to increased production of H⁺ by the body or the inability of the body to form bicarbonate (HCO3^-) in the kidney.
• Anion gap = [Na⁺] - [Cl^-] - [HCO3^-]
• Normal reference range for anion gap is between 8 and 16 meq/L.

Action Items

• This involves determining the next step to take in the patient management. For example: Should I check for respiratory compensation in the case of metabolic acidosis or not? Should I administer bicarbonate or not?

Resources

• Wikicode for Icons

__NOTOC__
{| class="infobox" style="float:right;"
|-
| [[File:Siren.gif|30px|link={{PAGENAME}} resident survival guide]]|| <br> || <br>
| [[{{PAGENAME}} resident survival guide|'''Resident'''<br>'''Survival'''<br>'''Guide''']]
|}
{| class="infobox" style="float:right;"
|-
| [[File:Critical_Pathways.gif|88px|link={{PAGENAME}} critical pathways]]|| <br> || <br>
|}

• Wikicode for Critical Pathways

__NOTOC__
{{CMG}}

==Critical Pathways==
{|CELLPADDING=20 STYLE="WIDTH:50%; HEIGHT:50px" BORDER="1"
| BGCOLOR=FLORALWHITE | {{Smallcaps|[[{{PAGENAME}} critical pathways|{{PAGENAME}} critical pathways]]}}
|}

{|CELLPADDING=20 STYLE="WIDTH:50%; HEIGHT:50px" BORDER="1"
| BGCOLOR=FLORALWHITE STYLE="WIDTH:50%"| Critical Point 1 || BGCOLOR=MEDIUMAQUAMARINE STYLE="WIDTH:25%" | [[{{PAGENAME}} A critical pathways|A]] ||BGCOLOR=LIGHTGRAY STYLE="WIDTH:25%" | [[{{PAGENAMEE}} B critical pathways|B]]
|}

{|CELLPADDING=20 STYLE="WIDTH:50%; HEIGHT:50px" BORDER="1"
| BGCOLOR=FLORALWHITE STYLE="WIDTH:50%" | Critical Point 2 || BGCOLOR=MEDIUMAQUAMARINE STYLE="WIDTH:25%" | [[{{PAGENAME}} A1 critical pathways|A1]] ||BGCOLOR=LIGHTGRAY STYLE="WIDTH:25%" | [[{{PAGENAMEE}} A2 critical pathways|A2]]
|}

==Definition==

==Action Items==

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Critical pathways]]
[[Category:Disease]]
[[Category:Emergency medicine]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Primary care]]
[[Category:Signs and symptoms]]

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• How to create a page on WikiDoc: Click here
• How to add a reference: Click here