Syllabus #	Item	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
	Module 1: Respiratory physiology and pathophysiology
1	Pulmonary mechanics and gas exchange			•
2	Ventilatory muscle physiology, pathophysiology, and therapy, including polyneuropathy of the critically ill and prolonged effect of neuromuscular blockers			•
3	Pulmonary haemorrhage and haemoptysis			•
4	Oxygen transport and utilisation			•
	Module 2: Respiratory failure
1	Acute respiratory failure			•
1.1	Hypoxaemic respiratory failure including acute respiratory distress syndrome			•
1.2	Acute and chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure			•
	Module 3: Respiratory medical and surgical conditions
1	Status asthmaticus			•
2	Aspiration			•
3	Chest trauma (e.g. flail chest, pulmonary contusion, rib fractures)		•
4	Bronchopulmonary infections including bronchiolitis			•
5	Upper airway obstruction		•
6	Bronchopleural fistulas		•
7	Pleural diseases in severe respiratory failure			•
7.1	Empyema			•
7.2	Pleural effusion			•
7.3	Pneumothorax			•
7.4	Haemothorax		•
8	Pulmonary embolism — thrombus, air, fat, amniotic			•
9	Pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale (including pharmacological treatment)		•
10	Management of obese patient		•
11	Sleep disordered breathing			•
12	Near drowning (optional item)		•
	Module 4: Ventilation and airway management
1	Oxygen therapy			•
2	Hyperbaric oxygenation (optional item)	•
3	Invasive mechanical ventilation			•
3.1	PEEP and CPAP			•
3.2	Indications for and hazards of mechanical ventilation			•
3.3	Barotrauma and volutrauma, atelectrauma, biotrauma		•
3.4	Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (optional item)	•
3.5	Extracorporeal CO2 removal (optional item)	•
3.6	Lung-protective mechanical ventilation			•
3.7	High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (optional item)	•
4	Criteria for extubation and weaning techniques			•
5	Airway maintenance			•
5.1	Emergency airway management			•
5.2	Endotracheal intubation			•
5.3	Tracheostomy		•
6	Noninvasive ventilation			•
6.1	Choice of interfaces			•
6.2	Ventilatory modes incl. CPAP			•
6.3	Choice of ventilators			•
6.4	Oxygen supply during NIV			•
6.5	Indications and contra-indications for NIV			•
6.6	Indication for withdrawing NIV			•
6.7	Criteria of failure			•
	Module 5: Other respiratory therapies
1	Positional therapy (i.e. prone position, rotational therapy)		•
2	Inhalation therapies and humidification			•
3	Nitric oxide (optional item)	•
	Module 6: Cardiovascular disorders
1	Shock syndromes and hypoperfusion including management principles (obstructive shock, sepsis and sepsis shock, other distributive shock, multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, hypovolaemic shock, cardiogenic shock)		•
2	Myocardial infarction and its complications	•
3	Cardiac rhythm and conduction disturbances		•
4	Pulmonary oedema — cardiogenic, noncardiogenic			•
5	Vasoactive and inotropic therapy			•
6	Haemodynamic effects caused by ventilatory assist devices			•
7	Thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy			•
8	Recognition, evaluation, and management of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies•		•
	Module 7: Renal disorders
1	Regulation of fluid balance and electrolytes			•
2	Renal failure: pre-renal, renal and post-renal		•
3	Acid–base disorders and their management			•
4	Evaluation of oliguria		•
5	Drug dosing in renal failure			•
	Module 8: Central nervous system disorders
1	Coma: causes, assessment and prognosis			•
2	Neuromuscular disease causing respiratory failure			•
2.1	Guillain-Barré syndrome		•
2.2	Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis		•
2.3	Myasthenia gravis		•
2.4	Myopathies (Duchenne's, etc.)		•
2.5	Post-operative phrenic nerve dysfunction		•
3	Principles of sedation			•
4	Principles of pain management		•
5	Neuromuscular blockade: use, monitoring, and complications		•
6	Delirium and agitation		•
	Module 9: Metabolic and endocrine effects in critical illness
1	Evaluation of nutritional state		•
1.1	Enteral and parenteral		•
2	Glucose management			•
	Module 10: Infectious diseases
1	Antibiotics			•
1.1	Antibacterial agents			•
1.2	Antifungal agents			•
1.3	Antituberculosis agents			•
1.4	Antiviral agents		•
2	Infection control for special care units		•
2.1	Development of antibiotic resistance		•
2.2	Universal precautions			•
2.3	Isolation and reverse isolation		•
2.4	Infectious risks to healthcare workers		•
3	Definition, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis syndrome			•
4	Systemic inflammatory response syndrome			•
5	Hospital-acquired and opportunistic infections in the critically ill			•
6	ICU support of the immunosuppressed patient		•
7	Evaluation of fever in the ICU patient			•
	Module 11: Acute haematological and oncological disorders
1	Disseminated intravascular coagulation	•
2	Anticoagulation; fibrinolytic therapy		•
3	Principles of blood component therapy including complications		•
4	Prophylaxis against thromboembolic disease			•
5	ICU-acquired anaemia	•
	Module 12: Acute gastrointestinal and abdominal disorders
1	Prevention, treatment and principles of gastrointestinal bleeding		•
	Module 13: Environmental hazards
1	Drugs and narcotics leading to respiratory failure			•
2	CO poisoning		•
3	Biological and chemical terrorism (optional item)	•
	Module 14: Immunology and transplantation
1	Principles of transplantation (organ donation, procurement, preservation, transportation, allocation, implantation, maintenance of organ donors, national organisation of transplantation activities)		•
2	Immunosuppression		•
3	Lung transplantation: indications, pre-operative and post-operative care		•
	Module 15: Monitoring, quality control and biostatistics
1	Prognostic indexes, severity, and therapeutic intervention scores		•
2	Principles of ECG monitoring, measurement of skin temperature and resistance, transcutaneous measurements			•
3	Noninvasive haemodynamic monitoring			•
4	Respiratory monitoring			•
5	Telemetric systems (optional item)		•
	Module 16: Practical skills
1	Interpretation of sputum, bronchopulmonary secretions, and pleural fluid			•
2	Arterial puncture for blood gas determination and arterial catheter placement			•
3	Principles, indications and limitations of pulse oximetry			•
4	Physical principles, indications and limitations of end tidal and transcutaneous CO2 monitoring			•
5	Pulmonary function testing to assess respiratory mechanics and gas exchange, including spirometry, flow–volume studies, lung volumes, diffusing capacity			•
6	Arterial blood gas analysis			•
7	Airway management including endotracheal intubation			•
8	Management of the difficult airway		•
9	Modes and principles of mechanical ventilation — invasive and noninvasive			•
10	Modes and principles of oxygen supplementation			•
11	Tracheostomy tube management and decannulation			•
12	Emergent cardioversion and defibrillation			•
13	Evaluation of sedation		•
14	Diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis			•
15	Chest tube insertion and maintenance of the tube and drainage systems, insertion of decompression needle for tension pneumothorax			•
16	Central venous catheter placement (subclavian, femoral, jugular) with/without ultrasound guidance			•
17	Set-up and operation of haemodynamic and respiratory monitoring systems			•
18	Interpretation of haemodynamic and oxygen delivery and extraction data			•
19	Diagnostic bronchoscopy including airway examination and bronchoalveolar lavage			•
20	Therapeutic bronchoscopy (through an artificial airway) for secretion removal			•
21	Insertion of nasal gastric and feeding tubes			•
22	Imaging techniques commonly employed in the evaluation of patients with critical illness and/or pulmonary disorders		•
23	Basic interpretation of chest radiograph			•
24	Advanced cardiac life support			•
25	Inhalation and humidification and secretion clearance devices			•
26	Application of extracorporeal CO2 removal (optional item)	•
27	Percutaneous tracheostomy (optional item)		•
	Module 17: Management
1	Understanding and evaluation of health cost and economics		•
2	Resource allocation		•
3	Triage (direction of patient flow to and off critical care units)			•
4	Knowledge of prevailing legal norms regarding the legally incompetent patient, euthanasia, brain death determination and organ donation		•
	Module 18: Communications and ethics
1	Appropriate verbal and written communication			•
2	Handling emotional effects of severe illness			•
3	Handling of unfavourable messages and complaints			•
4	Understanding medical ethics in due consideration of socioeconomic, cultural and religious differences		•
5	Respect of patient autonomy			•
6	Assessment of utility and futility of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures			•
7	Informed consent			•
8	End-of-life decision making and care		•
9	Quality of end of life			•
	Module 19: Research and evidence-based medicine
1	Application of guidelines			•
2	Scientific literature appraisal			•
3	Use of information technology		•