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!
The ENT Tool Kit: Practical Pearls for Emergency Physicians
As an emergency medicine physician, whether you are working in the resuscitation bay or in urgent care, ENT complaints are common and will be encountered in both areas. The goal of this post is to provide you with a practical framework and highlight tips and tricks...
PEAChY-O: Pharmacological Emergency Management of Agitation in Children and Young People: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Oral Medication
Methodology: 3.5/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Bourke EM, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2025 Jul;86(1):1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2025.01.007. Question and Methods: In this randomized, open-label, multicentre trial, the authors investigated whether oral olanzapine was more...
Blakemore Tube Insertion
A 60-year-old male with a history of cirrhosis arrives in your ED in extremis; no vital signs, massive hematemesis en route, and a presumptive diagnosis of ruptured esophageal varices. Your team initiates the massive transfusion protocol, secures the airway, and...
Efficacy and safety of intravenous nerinetide initiated by paramedics in the field for acute cerebral ischaemia within 3 h of symptom onset (FRONTIER): a phase 2, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 4/5 Christenson J, et al. Lancet. 2025 Feb 15;405(10478):571-582. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00193-X. Question and Methods: Double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT to determine if prehospital administration of nerinetide for suspected acute...
Are We Triage Monkeys or Gods? Big and Small Decisions in the ED
While the term ‘God Squad’ reflects a real committee from the 1960s, we use it here critically to examine the risks of unchecked decision-making power in emergency care. This is a photo of the Admissions and Policy Committee of the Seattle Artificial Kidney Centre,...
Unexpected Souvenirs: The Latest in Fever in the Returning Traveller
Global travel has surged back in full force following the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing with it an important clinical consideration for emergency physicians—evaluating febrile patients with recent travel history. Despite the growing need, many emergency clinicians still...
The Code Crew: Medications That Save the Beat!
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is sudden, silent, and devastating, claiming 9 out of 10 lives before they ever reach a hospital. In Canada, approximately 60,000 OHCAs occur annually — that’s one every nine minutes — and fewer than 1 in 10 people survive1....
Can we avoid casting for suspected scaphoid fractures? A multicenter randomized controlled trial
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Cohen A, et al. J Orthop Traumatol. 2025 Mar 5;26(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s10195-025-00822-5. Question and Methods: Authors tested if bandaging was noninferior to casting for suspected scaphoid fractures by conducting a multicenter...
Ottawa Handbook of Emergency Medicine – 6th Edition!
We’re excited to announce the release of the 6th edition of the Ottawa Handbook of Emergency Medicine – a peer-reviewed, point-of-care resource created to support you in the emergency department. With new and improved content, this edition continues to build on the...
Rapid Acute Coronary Syndrome Evaluation Over One Hour With High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I: A United States-Based Stepped-Wedge, Randomized Trial
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Miller J, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Oct;84(4):399-408. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.04.024. Question and Methods: The Authors assessed whether a 0/1-hour high-sensitivity troponin protocol increased safe ED discharges compared...