DrNB Critical Care Medicine: Examination Guide Series Volume 2

DrNB Critical Care Medicine: Examination Guide Series

Volume 2, Part 2A — The Long Case Examination

Clinical Case — 50 Marks Each

The clinical case is worth 50 marks per case across two long cases — and it rewards structure, not just clinical knowledge. This volume translates real ICU complexity into the examiner-facing format the practical examination demands, decoding the official NBEMS clinical case format and embedding the FASTHUG-BID framework as a mandatory structure for every case presentation.

What’s inside

• Six full long cases, each built as a multi-organ dysfunction syndrome scenario:
  • Respiratory MODS — CAP progressing to ARDS, septic shock, and AKI
  • Neurological MODS — severe TBI with raised ICP, rhabdomyolysis, and AKI
  • Hepatic MODS — acute liver failure in pregnancy with encephalopathy and coagulopathy
  • Cardiac MODS — anterior STEMI with cardiogenic shock and pulmonary oedema
  • Renal MODS — urosepsis progressing to AKI requiring CRRT
  • Haematological MODS — AML with febrile neutropenia, septic shock, and DIC
• Each case worked through in full — history-taking, systematic ICU examination, differential diagnosis, justified final diagnosis, guideline-referenced management, a day-by-day ICU plan, and prognostic scoring
• Six examiner vignettes per case, extending the scenario into unexpected turns — cerebral vasospasm, brain death certification, transplant counselling, and more
• A closing chapter on examination strategy and common mistakes
• Referenced quick-reference cards — RRT indications, APACHE II — for exam-day recall
• Every statement referenced to core textbooks and landmark trials (SSC 2021, ARMA, KDIGO, BTF)

Ideal for DrNB CCM candidates, and useful for FNB CCM trainees preparing for long-case vivas.

This is Part 2A of a multi-volume DrNB Critical Care Medicine Examination Guide Series — opening Volume 2 (the practical examination) and continuing through practical skills and viva voce preparation, following the Volume 1 theory papers (Parts 1A–1D).

Disclaimer: An independent educational resource for exam preparation, not affiliated with NBEMS. Clinical decisions must be based on qualified medical judgment.

By Dr. Gunadhar Padhi — Chief Intensivist, HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai; MD, IDCCM, FCCCM, ECMO (Paris); author of the DrNB Critical Care Medicine Examination Guide Series.