Sources and dates

Every external fact these pages rely on, with the document it came from, the wording that document actually uses, and the date it was read at source. Nothing here is cited from memory or from a secondary summary.

FactSourceChecked
MRCS Part B format: 17 stations, about 3.5 hours
“From October 2021, the MRCS Part B will consist of 17 stations assessing the knowledge and skills of the candidate and will last approximately 3.5 hours.”
ICBSE, MRCS Part B OSCE candidate guidance
intercollegiatemrcsexams.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Trauma primary survey: exsanguinating external haemorrhage control first
“For certain patients, rapid control of exsanguinating external hemorrhage is lifesaving. To reflect this additional focus, the letter ‘x’ was added to the beginning of the well-known ATLS mnemonic. ABCDE is now xABCDE.”
American College of Surgeons, launch of ATLS 11th edition
facs.org, ACS Brief, 2025
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Tranexamic acid: the theatre trigger
“Offer tranexamic acid to adults having surgery in an operating theatre if: there is any risk of bleeding and the procedure will breach the skin or mucous membranes.”
NICE NG24, recommendation 1.3.1 [2026]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Tranexamic acid: the non-theatre trigger
“Offer tranexamic acid to adults having surgery outside an operating theatre… who are expected to lose more than 500 ml of blood.”
NICE NG24, recommendation 1.3.2 [2026]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Tranexamic acid dose, route and timing
“administer it just before the start of surgery. Typically give 1 g by slow intravenous injection.”
NICE NG24, recommendation 1.3.3 [2026]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Paediatric tranexamic acid
“Consider tranexamic acid for children (aged 1 to 15 years)”; outside theatre where they are “expected to lose more than 10% of their blood volume”; “Typically give 15 mg per kg (maximum 1 g) by slow intravenous injection.”
NICE NG24, recommendations 1.3.5 to 1.3.7 [2026]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Tranexamic acid: wrong-route safety
“Ensure safety measures are in place to prevent tranexamic acid from being accidentally administered via the intrathecal or epidural route rather than intravenously.”
NICE NG24, recommendation 1.3.9 [2026]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Transfusion thresholds
“a threshold of 70 g/litre and a haemoglobin concentration target of 70 to 90 g/litre after transfusion”; “a red blood cell transfusion threshold of 80 g/litre… for people with acute coronary syndrome.”
NICE NG24, recommendations 1.5.1 to 1.5.3 [2015]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Acute kidney injury: the eGFR threshold
1.1.6, the increased-risk statement: “Be aware that there is a small but increased risk of acute kidney injury associated with an eGFR less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m².” 1.2.9, a different action at the same number: “Consider temporarily stopping ACE inhibitors and ARBs in adults having iodine-based contrast media if they have chronic kidney disease with an eGFR less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m².”
NICE NG148, recommendations 1.1.6 [2024] and 1.2.9 [2013, amended 2024]
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
Acute kidney injury: detection criteria
Detect AKI “in line with the (p)RIFLE, AKIN or KDIGO definitions”, using “a rise in serum creatinine of 26 micromol/litre or greater within 48 hours” or a “50% or greater rise in serum creatinine known or presumed to have occurred within the past 7 days”.
NICE NG148, recommendation 1.3.1
nice.org.uk
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today
AKI staging figures are KDIGO, not NICE
Staging confirmed at source: stage 3 at serum creatinine “≥4.0 mg/dl (≥354 mmol/l)”, and the definition thresholds “≥0.3 mg/dl [≥26.5 mmol/l] within a 48-hour window” or “an increase of ≥1.5 times baseline”. NG148 gives detection criteria only and reproduces no staging table.
KDIGO, Clinical Practice Guideline for Acute Kidney Injury (2012), Table 2
kdigo.org
Re-checked 23 September 2026 verified today

The station library that these facts were originally checked against is not yet published. Every entry on this page was re-read at its source on 23 September 2026. The NICE recommendations were fetched chapter by chapter and matched word for word; where NICE has re-issued a recommendation, its current review year is shown in square brackets.