Critical Care in Pregnancy (Part 1)

This podcast addresses the unique challenges of providing critical care to pregnant patients. Dr. Stephen Lapinsky, Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, discusses the physiological changes during pregnancy, such as upper airway edema, increased respiratory drive, and increased cardiac output, and how these changes impact treatment strategies. The discussion covers conditions unique to pregnancy, including obstetrical hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and amniotic fluid embolism. Dr. Lapinsky emphasizes the importance of understanding normal versus abnormal lab values in pregnant patients, especially regarding thrombocytopenia and creatinine levels, and advises intensivists to apply standard critical care principles, adapting for pregnancy-specific conditions.