Approach to a Pregnant Patient with AHRF and Chest Pain

Key considerations

The lecture duration is 19min.

0.5 CPD Points, 0.5 CEUs, 0.5 CME credits approval pending.
Accredited by CPDUK, CBRN and Provider Pending.

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Ed Buga
Critical care Fellow at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, South Africa
Lecture Summary

Managing chest pain in a pregnant patient is quite the challenge for any physician. It requires an appraisal of the physiological changes in pregnancy and to know the determinants of fetal oxygen delivery. Adapt an Obstetric early warning criteria chart to determine the severity of condition. Most radiological investigation are safe in pregnancy ,so if the test will improve your identification of a life-threatening condition go ahead and do it. There is an emerging role for point of care ultrasound. Initiate support based on the severity of the condition, treat the underlying cause. Trimester specific levels in pregnancy should be used to aid in probability testing for venous thromboembolic disease. 75% of Arrhythmias in pregnancy are benign. It is helpful to rule out structural heart disease. The management is like that of the non-pregnant population. Always check the FDA category for the effect of certain drugs in pregnancy.

Target Audience

Emergency Medicine Doctors
Emergency Medicine Nurses
Paramedics
Rural GP's

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to:

  • Use the early warning criteria to determine the severity of the problems
  • Understand the determinants of fetal oxygen delivery while providing oxygen support
  • Understand that most radiological investigations (CXR,CTPA)are safe in pregnancy. D dimers Specific levels in pregnancy can be used to aid in probability testing for thromboembolic disease

None.