8 clinical criteria predict management in an ICU

Which of the following would indicate the patient must be monitored in an intensive care unit setting following an overdose?

• A) PaCO2 >45 mmHg


• B) Seizures


• C) QRS duration ≥ 0.12 seconds


• D) Second- or third-degree atrioventricular block


• E) All of the above

Answer and Discussion
The answer is E.
The presence of any of eight clinical criteria predict a complicated hospital course that could be best managed in an ICU:

1- PaCO2 >45 mmHg
2- A need for emergency intubation
3- The presence of postingestion seizures
4- Unresponsiveness to verbal stimuli
5- A non-sinus cardiac rhythm
6- Second- or third-degree atrioventricular block
7- Systolic blood pressure <80 mmHg
8- QRS duration ≥ 0.12 seconds