Intensive Care at EDAIC Part I: The Key Topics from Paper B

Intensive care carries a significant weight in Paper B of the EDAIC Part I exam. It is a vast field, but the questions cluster around a few recurring themes. Here is a map of the topics worth mastering.

1. Respiratory failure and ARDS

The Berlin definition of ARDS and the severity criteria (the PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio).
The principles of protective ventilation: low tidal volume (6 ml/kg ideal body weight), limited plateau pressures, optimal PEEP.
Adjunctive manoeuvres: prone positioning, neuromuscular blockade, ECMO as a rescue option.

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2. Sepsis and septic shock

The Sepsis-3 definitions and the SOFA score.
The "hour-1" bundle: cultures, lactate, early antibiotics, fluid resuscitation.
Vasopressors: noradrenaline as first line, mean arterial pressure targets.

Keep in mind: sepsis questions frequently test the sequence and timing of interventions, not just the doses. Understand the "why" behind each step.

3. Acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy

The KDIGO criteria for acute kidney injury.
The indications for renal replacement therapy (RRT): refractory hyperkalaemia, severe acidosis, fluid overload, symptomatic uraemia.
The differences between continuous and intermittent modalities.

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Answer an EDAIC-style question

This is one exam-format Part 1 multiple-true-false question from our bank. Mark each statement true or false, then see the worked answer.

EDAIC Part 1 · Paper APhysiology and Biochemistry

Regarding the pathophysiology of oxygen delivery and consumption in circulatory shock:

Mark each statement true or false:

In healthy adults at rest, systemic oxygen delivery is approximately 1000 mL/min while oxygen consumption is about 250 mL/min, creating a physiological oxygen reserve.
When systemic oxygen delivery decreases, oxygen consumption immediately falls in direct proportion, indicating supply dependency at all levels of DO₂.
Cardiac output is determined by the product of heart rate and stroke volume, with stroke volume being influenced by preload, afterload, and myocardial contractility.
The unifying feature of all forms of shock, regardless of aetiology, is acute circulatory failure associated with inadequate cellular oxygen utilisation.
In septic shock, early goal-directed therapy targeting supranormal oxygen delivery values has been shown to consistently reduce mortality across all patient populations.

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4. Acid-base balance

An exam classic. Practise the systematic interpretation of arterial blood gases:

pH — acidosis or alkalosis?
Respiratory vs. metabolic component.
Calculate the anion gap and the expected compensation.

5. Nutrition, sedation and delirium

The principles of score-guided sedation (RASS) and sedation holds.
Delirium screening (CAM-ICU).
The timing and route of nutrition in the critically ill patient.

How to approach these topics

Intensive care rewards integrated thinking: a question rarely tests a single isolated fact. Build mental frameworks that link pathophysiology to clinical intervention, and practise on MTF questions that simulate real scenarios.

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