Cough syncope
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that cough syncope is caused by coughing-induced vagal tone and bradycardia, leading to systemic hypotension and syncope (ie, vasovagal syncope as a result of…
Exacerbation of obesity hypoventilation syndrome
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Attempting to force awake patients with central hypoventilation and no increased work of breathing to use bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) • Diagnosing a chronic…
Heart failure for the pulmonary critical care physician
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Left-sided heart failure (LHF) causes pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure (RHF) as a result of “back pressure” • Pulmonary hypertension and right ventricle (RV)…
The chest radiograph
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that reading a chest x-ray (CXR) requires advanced training, experience, and/or a “special eye” • Declaring a “blunted costophrenic angle” when the entire diaphragm…
Evaluation and treatment of pulmonary hypertension
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with severe lung disease is group 3 • Obtaining an nonexpert right-sided heart…
Pulmonary function testing
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that a significant bronchodilator response on PFTs equals a diagnosis of asthma • Obtaining pulmonary function testing (PFT) during an acute illness involving cardiopulmonary…
Dyspnea and exercise limitation
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Hypoxemia is a common cause of dyspnea • Hypoxemia is a common cause of exercise limitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) •…
Approach to oxygenation, hypoxemia, and hypoxemic respiratory failure
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Hypoxemia is a significant cause of dyspnea • A cutaneous O 2 sat ≥ 92% predicts adequate oxygenation and is the appropriate target for O…
Ventilation and hypercapnic respiratory failure
Common misconceptions and mistakes • 100% O 2 sat is reassuring with regard to impending respiratory failure in a tachypneic, dyspneic patient • Hypercapnic respiratory failure is ruled out by…
