We are excited to introduce the Sixth edition of The Ottawa Handbook of Emergency Medicine. Your bedside guide for approaches to various Emergency Medicine presentations.
Highlights of the Sixth edition include the addition of: Oncologic emergencies, approach to the pregnant patient, geriatrics and more!
Efficacy and Safety of Early Administration of 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate in Patients With Trauma at Risk of Massive Transfusion: The PROCOAG Randomized Clinical Trial
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Bouzat P, et al. JAMA. 2023 Mar 21:e234080. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.4080. Question and Methods: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled superiority trial aimed to assess whether 4F-PCC decreases 24hr blood product...
Quality initiative to improve emergency department sepsis bundle compliance through utilisation of an electronic health record tool
Methodology: 2/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Warstadt NM, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2022 Jan;11(1):e001624. Questions and Methods: Using a cohort and QI approach, to demonstrate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary educational intervention and EHR tool to increase sepsis bundle...
Psychology and Science of Waiting
Preamble: This Grand Rounds was inspired in part by a conversation I had with Dr. Andrew Petrosoniak during my time at St. Michael’s Hospital where we discussed the growing concern of excessive ED wait times and the limited concerted effort on addressing the waiting...
Safely reducing abdominal/pelvic computed tomography imaging in pediatric trauma: a quality improvement initiative
Methodology: 4.5/5 Usefulness: 5/5 Beno S, al. CJEM. 2022 Aug;24(5):535-543. Editorial: Reducing overuse of CT imaging in pediatric trauma: a model example of the Model for Improvement. Question and Methods: The aim of this QI project was to reduce unnecessary CT...
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....