# Critical care physiology: worked synthetic examples

> **Educational work by a pre-medical student — not medical advice.** Not a clinical protocol, prescription, or patient handout, and not for patient care. See [DISCLAIMER](DISCLAIMER.md).

[Reader’s guide](START_HERE.md) · [Authorship & review status](AUTHORSHIP_AND_REVIEW.md) · [Disclaimer](DISCLAIMER.md) · [Portfolio home](https://collingeorge.github.io/CM-2026/)

[What is guideline-recommended, general knowledge or clinical practice?](EVIDENCE_CLASSIFICATION.md) — verified recommendation strengths and labels beside the examples.

[Laboratory findings and diagnosis examples](CLINICAL_LAB_EXAMPLES.md) · [Pain, airway, ventilation and extubation examples](AIRWAY_PAIN_AND_VENTILATION_EXAMPLES.md) · [Equipment basics and case uses](ICU_EQUIPMENT_BASICS.md) · [Public clinical sources](CLINICAL_CARE_PUBLIC_SOURCES.md)

[Procedure-organized CTICU worked examples](CTICU_PROCEDURE_EXAMPLES.md) — 18 paired narratives with visual decision trees across cardiac, thoracic, vascular and acute cardiorespiratory care.

[Integrated ICU/CTICU workups: pain, airway, circulation, diagnosis and testing](ICU_CTICU_WORKUP_CASES.md) — all 42 topics, with conditional test purposes and reassessment.


## Applied clinical examples — 28 October 2026

- [Topic-specific paired cases](APPLIED_CASES.md): 42 male/female pairs (84 synthetic profiles), with worked applications, options and source maps.
- [Shared anesthesia options and cases](ANESTHESIA_OPTIONS_AND_CASES.md): the same four-modality guide and 12 general teaching cases used throughout the clinical portfolio.
- [Example format and verification standard](CASE_EXAMPLE_STANDARD.md), [topic source audit](EXAMPLE_SOURCE_AUDIT.json), and [shared source audit](SHARED_SOURCE_AUDIT.json).

These additions use a consistent educational format and source documentation; they do not certify clinical correctness, guideline compliance or patient-care suitability. Existing manuscript/PDF content is retained.


Independent premedical study portfolio by Collin B. George. Navigation updated 29 October 2026.

The five case sets contain **42 entirely synthetic case topics**. The author confirmed that they are independent of real encounters/charts. They are not de-identified patient notes or evidence of clinical care experience.

## Case sets

| File | Themes | Exercises |
|---|---|---|
| [Multisystem critical care](case_set_01_multisystem_critical_care_scenarios.md) | Shock, respiratory failure, trauma, pancreatitis, goals of care | 8 |
| [Advanced hemodynamic reasoning](case_set_02_advanced_hemodynamic_scenarios.md) | Postoperative physiology, extracorporeal support, transplant and neuro-cardiac interaction | 8 |
| [Cardiothoracic reasoning](case_set_03_postoperative_cardiothoracic_scenarios.md) | Competing postoperative mechanisms and measurement limits | 8 |
| [Pattern recognition](case_set_04_postoperative_hemodynamics_and_device_physiology.md) | Valve/bypass surgery, rhythm, kidney injury, congestion and devices | 13 |
| [Support and goals of care](case_set_05_mechanical_support_and_goals_of_care.md) | Mechanical support, alarms, respiratory physiology and explicit comfort-focused goals | 5 |

Each vignette links worked explanations and an interpretation boundary. The rc2 reconstruction withdraws unsupported medicine doses, device adjustments, generic thresholds and clinical-competence claims from earlier versions. It preserves the educational themes, not the old treatment plans.

## Study resources

- [Source guide](references/bibliography.md)
- [Physiology and unit conventions](references/icu_physiology_notes.md)
- [Shock concepts](references/shock_classification.md)
- [Ventilation concepts](references/ventilator_strategies.md)
- [Hemodynamics objectives](learning_objectives/hemodynamics.md)
- [Respiratory objectives](learning_objectives/respiratory_failure.md)
- [Neurophysiology objectives](learning_objectives/neurocritical_care.md)
- [Sedation/analgesia objectives](learning_objectives/sedation_analgesia.md)
- [Terminology](learning_objectives/terminology_and_abbreviations.md)
- [Self-assessment rubric](learning_objectives/self_assessment_rubric.md)

DNR/DNI is not synonymous with comfort-only care. EF, CVP, IVC appearance, lactate and device readouts are contextual observations, not standalone diagnoses or treatment rules. No exercise certifies readiness to manage patients or devices.

See [provenance](PROVENANCE.md), [publication review](PUBLICATION_REVIEW.md), [release notes](RELEASE_NOTES.md), [citation metadata](CITATION.cff) and [license](LICENSE). Third-party sources retain their own rights. No institutional endorsement or public-release clearance is asserted.