We are excited to introduce the fourth edition of The Ottawa Handbook of Emergency Medicine.
Highlights of the fourth edition include: acid-base disorders, approach to red eye, thyroid emergencies, vaginal bleeding, pericarditis and myocarditis, and monoarthritis.
CAEP 2023 in review!
Well, the CAEP 2023 (#CAEP23) (Canadian Associated of Emergency Physicians) conference is officially over. We've head back to our respective homes and departments, and by now the melancholy has fully kicked in. It was the first time, in a while, that the CAEP...
Topical NSAIDs for Acute Pain Management
I was early in my PGY-1 year when I first witnessed an adverse effect from oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It was a busy morning with long patient wait times, and I picked up the chart of a 19-year-old female presenting with abdominal pain. She...
A Comparison of Prehospital Pediatric Analgesic Use of Ketamine and Opioids
Methodology: 3/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Frawley, John et al. “A Comparison of Prehospital Pediatric Analgesic Use of Ketamine and Opioids.” Prehospital emergency care, 1-5. 8 Mar. 2023, doi:10.1080/10903127.2023.2183295 Question and methods: This study sought...
A comparison of ketamine and morphine analgesia in prehospital trauma care: a cluster randomized clinical trial in rural Quang Tri province, Vietnam
Methodology: 3.5/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Tran, Kim Phung et al. “A comparison of ketamine and morphine analgesia in prehospital trauma care: a cluster randomized clinical trial in rural Quang Tri province, Vietnam.” Prehospital emergency care vol. 18,2 (2014):...
Prehospital Ketamine Use in Pediatrics
Goyal, Ashima et al. “Prehospital Ketamine Use in Pediatrics.” Prehospital emergency care vol. 27,3 (2023): 360-365. doi:10.1080/10903127.2022.2096161 Question and methods: This study was a retrospective observational study performed through a collaborative...
BHP Corner – Out of Hospital Discharge: Pearls and Pitfalls
Welcome Back to BHP Corner For those who are new to this segment of the EMOttawa Blog, here's a little refresher. In the Base Hospital Program (BHP) Corner, we aim to review interesting and evolving topics, as they pertain to the prehospital/paramedicine world....
Risk Scores for Clinical Risk Stratification of Emergency Department Patients With Chest Pain but No Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Systematic Review
Methodology: 3/5 Usefulness: 3/5 O'Rielly CM, et al. Can J Cardiol. 2023 Mar;39(3):304-310. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2022.12.028. Question and Methods: The authors conducted a systematic review to identify and synthesize prognostic performance of chest pain risk scores...
Rethinking Acute Pancreatitis in the ED
Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common gastroenterology conditions we see in the emergency department with a prevalence of 110-140 cases per 100,000 population. (1) At The Ottawa Hospital alone, we saw over an average of 1 case per day over the last year....
Multifaceted quality improvement initiatives improve rate of pediatric hand injury reduction
Methodology: 2/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Market M, et al. CJEM. 2022 Jun;24(4):426-433. Question & methods: Whether quality improvement interventions could decrease the rate of repeat reductions in pediatric hand injuries by plastic surgeons. The study was conducted...
A Dive into Drowning – Part Two
Previously in Part One, we reviewed the pathophysiology and pre-hospital management of patients who experienced non-fatal and fatal drownings. Now, in Part Two, let's take a deeper dive into the resuscitation of these patients in the Emergency Department as well as...