NCBI STATPEARLS + PUBMED + OPEN-I VERIFIED SEED TAXONOMY

Medipaedia.org Master Clinical Topic Taxonomy (By Specialty & ICD-10/11)

Standardized 10-Section High-Yield Clinical Reference Matrix across 19 Medical Specialties with verified ICD-10/11 codes, Classic Triads, Gold-Standard Diagnostic Tests, and First-Line Treatment Protocols.

All 19 Specialties (60)Cardiology Respiratory Gastroenterology & Hepatology Nephrology & Urology Neurology Endocrinology & Metabolism Haematology & Oncology Infectious Diseases Rheumatology & Immunology Emergency Medicine & Critical Care General & Specialty Surgery Paediatrics Obstetrics & Gynaecology Dermatology Psychiatry Ophthalmology & ENT Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Musculoskeletal & Trauma Radiology & Medical Imaging

#	Topic, Specialty & ICD-10/11	Classic Triad / Key Presentation	Gold-Standard Diagnostic Test	First-Line Treatment Protocol	Status
12	Pulmonary embolism ICD-10: I26.99 ICD-11: BB00 Respiratory	Sudden-onset dyspnoea + Pleuritic chest pain + Tachycardia / Hypoxaemia (or obstructive shock in massive PE)	CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) (after Wells Score + Age-adjusted D-dimer in low/intermediate probability)	Direct Oral Anticoagulant (Apixaban or Rivaroxaban); Systemic Thrombolysis (Alteplase) for haemodynamically unstable high-risk PE	✓ Published (mID 10003)
13	Light criteria for pleural effusion ICD-10: J90 ICD-11: CB27 Respiratory	Exudate if ≥1 of 3: Pleural/Serum protein >0.5 + Pleural/Serum LDH >0.6 + Pleural LDH >2/3 upper limit of normal serum LDH	Ultrasound-guided diagnostic thoracentesis with paired pleural fluid and serum protein, LDH, pH, glucose, cytology, and microbiology	Treat underlying cause; chest tube drainage if complicated parapneumonic effusion/empyema (pleural pH <7.20, frank pus, or positive Gram stain)	✓ Published (mID 10021)
14	CURB-65 pneumonia severity score ICD-10: J18.9 ICD-11: CA40 Respiratory	Confusion (AMTS ≤8) + Urea >7 mmol/L + Respiratory rate ≥30/min + BP <90 systolic or ≤60 diastolic + Age ≥65 years (1 point each)	Chest Radiograph (new focal consolidation) + Clinical/Biochemical CURB-65 stratification	Score 0–1: Oral Amoxicillin outpatient; Score 2: Inpatient IV/PO Amoxicillin + Clarithromycin; Score ≥3: Co-amoxiclav + Clarithromycin ± ICU assessment	✓ Published (mID 10023)
15	Acute severe asthma ICD-10: J45.901 ICD-11: CA23.3 Respiratory	PEF 33–50% best/predicted + Respiratory rate ≥25/min + Heart rate ≥110/min and inability to complete sentences in one breath (Life-threatening: silent chest, PEF <33%, normal/raised PaCO2)	Serial Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) + Arterial Blood Gas (ABG — normal or rising PaCO2 >4.6 kPa indicates impending respiratory arrest)	High-flow Oxygen (target SpO2 94–98%) + Back-to-back nebulised Salbutamol (5 mg) & Ipratropium (0.5 mg) + Systemic Corticosteroids (Prednisolone 40–50 mg PO or Hydrocortisone 100 mg IV) + IV Magnesium sulfate (2 g over 20 min)	✓ Published (mID 10024)
16	Tension pneumothorax ICD-10: J93.0 ICD-11: CB21.0 Respiratory	Severe respiratory distress & hypoxia + Unilateral absent breath sounds & hyperresonance + Tracheal deviation away from affected side with obstructive shock	Clinical diagnosis (NEVER delay decompression for chest X-ray; bedside eFAST ultrasound shows absent lung sliding and 'barcode/stratosphere sign')	Immediate needle thoracostomy decompression (5th intercostal space, mid-axillary line in adults, or 2nd ICS mid-clavicular line) followed by chest drain insertion	✓ Published (mID 10022)