Dr. Syed is an staff Emergency physician at the Ottawa Hospital, with an fellowship in Digital Scholarship and special interests in rational resource utilization.
Hypothermia results in slightly over one hundred deaths per year in Canada; typically as a result of primary hypothermia, frostbite and other cold exposure injuries (Toronto Public Health, 2014). In the United States, this is estimated at 1500 deaths annually (Baumgartner 2008). Both are likely underestimates of the scope ofRead More →
RAFF2 Ian Stiell and colleagues are back at it with atrial fibrillation; The RAFF2 trial (Electrical versus Chemical cardioversion for Emergency Department patients with Atrial Fibrillation (RAFF2); A partial factorial randomized trial) was published in The Lancet this week. Acute atrial fibrillation is an irregular dysrhythmia that should be treatedRead More →
Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) for the evaluation and diagnosis of gallbladder related disease is becoming commonplace in the Emergency Department. Here, we present a quiz to test your knowledge, some answers, and helpful tips and tricks to enhance your gallbladder PoCUS game! Gallbladder Ultrasound Quiz Click on the caseRead More →
Dr. Reardon and colleagues identify key management priorities in optimizing the early resuscitation in patients after out of hospital cardiac arrest. Read More →
Sudden cardiac arrest represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur annually in the United States, with resuscitative efforts extending into the Emergency Department (ED) for many of these patients. Prognosis remains dismal, with death occurring in 92%. Background WhileRead More →
Non-purulent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs; i.e. cellulitis or erysipelas) account for up to 3% of all emergency department (ED) visits. Once the diagnosis of a non-purulent SSTI is made, the emergency physician must select the appropriate antibiotic agent, dose, duration and route (oral or intravenous (IV)). Current guidelinesRead More →
Syncope constitutes 1% of Emergency Department (ED) visits, and approximately 10% of these patients will have serious underlying conditions causing syncope (arrhythmia, MI, serious structural heart disease, pulmonary embolism, subarachnoid or severe hemorrhage). Alarmingly, half to one-third of these serious conditions will not be identified during ED evaluation. We previously derived theRead More →
Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a challenging diagnosis to make in the Emergency Department (ED), with a diagnostic delay occurring in about 75% of patients.[1] To ultimately make a diagnosis of SEA, patients typically require an MRI, and so physicians may often have diagnostic hesitancy, as MRI’s are such aRead More →
I’ve recently spent some time thinking about what it means to be a mentor. We’re often thrust into this role – with very little training on how to actually do this. I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a plethora of excellent mentors and residents, and have noted some clear observationsRead More →
Let’s start off with a case: 29 year old male, HR: 140, BP: 70/40, Temperature of 39.1. Sounds like straight forward, bread-and-butter emergency medicine doesn’t it? That is, until you look at the past medical history: Single Ventricle Hypoplastic RV Left AV Valve Atresia Large Ventricular Septal Defect Patent FormalRead More →