Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 4/5 Schüpke S, et al N Engl J Med. 2019 Oct 17;381(16):1524-1534. Editorial: Ticagrelor or Prasugrel in Acute Coronary Syndromes – The Winner Takes It All? Question and Methods: This open-label multicenter trial was the first head-to-head trial examining Ticagrelor vs Prasugrel as part ofRead More →
Methodology: 5/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Voskoboinik A, et al. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jan 2;382(1):20-28. Editorial: A Sober Reality? Alcohol, Abstinence, and Atrial Fibrillation. Question/Methods: Among adults who consume ≥10 drinks/week with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation successfully converted to sinus rhythm, investigators conducted a multicentre RCT of controlRead 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 →
Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Lemkes JS, et al. N Engl J Med. 2019 Apr 11;380(15):1397-1407. Editorial: Coronary Angiography after Cardiac Arrest – The Right Timing or the Right Patients? Question and Methods: Patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and shockable rhythm, but without STEMI on ECG following ROSCRead More →
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Pluymaekers NAHA, et al. N Engl J Med. 2019 Mar 18. Editorial: The RACE to Treat Atrial Fibrillation in the Emergency Department. Question and Methods: This multicenter, randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial compared delayed vs early cardioversion for emergency department patients withRead 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 →
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Atkinson PR, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2018 Oct;72(4):478-489 Question and Methods: This was the first multicenter, prospective, RCT examining the effect of POCUS on 30-day survival of undifferentiated hypotensive patients presenting to ED. Findings: There was no important survival benefit with theRead More →
Journal Club Summary: A Randomized Trial of Epinephrine in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Perkins GD, et al N Engl J Med. 2018 Jul 18. Editorial: Testing Epinephrine for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. Callaway CW, et al. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jul 18. Question and Methods: Multicenter, randomized,Read 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 →
Chest pain is a common presenting complaint to Emergency Departments (ED) worldwide. Massive resource investment is required to differentiate benign from sinister causes of chest pain, and for the treatment, referral, and risk stratification of chest pain patients. A cardiac etiology of chest pain is found in roughly 15% ofRead More →