by Michael Wong, Alex Coutin | Aug 20, 2020 | Addictions, Critical Care, Featured, mental health, psychiatry
In part 1 of this 2-part series, we discussed diagnosis and initial management of alcohol withdrawal. In part 2, we discuss the role of the benzodiazepines on discharge, how to use gabapentin, naltrexone, and communication strategies to optimize discharge to help your...
by Michael Wong, Alex Coutin | Aug 13, 2020 | Critical Care, Featured, psychiatry, Toxicology
In Ontario, Canada, alcohol-related ED visits have increased 4.4x faster than the overall increase in visits from 2003-2016, and was responsible for more admissions than heart attacks in 2016. In part 1 of this 2-part series, we will discuss tips for the diagnosis and...
by Hans Rosenberg | Jul 6, 2020 | cardiac arrest, Critical Care, Journal Club, Radiology, Resuscitation, Ultrasound
Methodology: 2.5/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Daley JI, et al. Acad Emerg Med 26 (11), 1211-1220 Nov 2019 Questions and methods: In patients with abnormal vital signs, what is the sensitivity of FOCUS for the diagnosis of PE? Prospective, multicenter, observational...
by Lindsay Cheskes, Kate O'Connell | May 21, 2020 | cardiac arrest, Cardiology, Critical Care, Featured, Grand Round Summaries, Resuscitation
This post takes a deep dive into the pathophysiology, presentation and management of electrical storm in the emergency department. The management focuses on patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators receiving multiple shocks, patients with polymorphic...
by Garrick Mok, Pascale King | May 7, 2020 | Critical Care, Featured, Grand Round Summaries, Infectious Disease, Resuscitation
The Surviving Sepsis Guidelines define sepsis as a “life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to an infection”. Septic shock is further defined as sepsis with hypotension (MAP ≤65) and/or lactate ≥2.0 despite adequate fluid...
by Jessica McCallum, Kate O'Connell | Apr 9, 2020 | Critical Care, Featured, Pre-Hospital
In this post, we aim to highlight the perspectives of family, physicians, the emergency department and pre-hospital medicine in regards to organ donation. Types of Organ Tissue Donation There are 2 main types of deceased organ donation including neurologic...
by Hans Rosenberg | Mar 16, 2020 | Critical Care, Infectious Disease, Journal Club
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Fujii T, et al. JAMA. 2020 Jan 17. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.22176. [Epub ahead of print] Editorial: Lack of Benefit of High-Dose Vitamin C, Thiamine, and Hydrocortisone Combination for Patients With Sepsis. Question and Methods:...
by Shannon Fernando, Kate O'Connell | Jan 30, 2020 | Critical Care, Grand Round Summaries, Resuscitation
In September 2018, Dr. Bram Rochwerg and I wrote a blog post on the treatment of patients with sepsis and septic shock. Much of this was based on the 2016 Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSc) Clinical Practice Guidelines [1]. However, in a little over a year, significant...
by Bo Zheng, Alex Coutin | Jan 16, 2020 | Airway, cardiac arrest, Critical Care, Featured, Grand Round Summaries, Resuscitation
What is pulseless electric activity (PEA)? Pulseless electrical activity is diagnosed based on a patient having an organized, non-shockable rhythm and no palpable pulse. However, PEA is not always a cardiac arrest state. In many cases, patients with PEA have...
by Peter Reardon, Shahbaz Syed | Sep 11, 2019 | Critical Care, Featured, Infographics
The dust has just settled, you’ve achieved Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) in a cardiac arrest patient – now what? Post cardiac arrest syndrome has the potential for significant morbidity and mortality that persists long after ROSC. There are many...
