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 →
One of the questions I am asked most frequently by learners is how they may improve and optimize their flow of patients in the Emergency Department (ED). I found through my education that this was not something implicitly taught, but absorbed by watching more senior staff work in the ED.Read More →
The vast majority of burns that present to the ED can be managed as outpatients1,2, usually by the patient’s family doctor, but many emergency physicians do not feel comfortable with burn management. Burn management often follows the preferences and experiences of plastic surgeons, so the overarching caveat for everything belowRead More →
Consider world champion tennis player Roger Federer. He represents one of the most successful professional athletes of our time. To what does he owe his success? While he undoubtedly possesses a remarkable amount of motivation, dedication, and athleticism, there is another factor to consider. He has a coach. In fact,Read 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 →
In this post, we discuss the pharmacology, myths, and a myriad of roles for Ketamine in the ED; including analgesia, sedation, agitation, alcohol withdrawal, and suicidal ideation. Part I: Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ketamine Produced in 1970s, structurally related to PCP Use declined with: advent of propofol, increasing documented casesRead More →
TCCC (Tactical combat casualty care) outlines the priorities of care for casualties in combat applications Nearly 90% of combat fatalities occur before reaching a medical treatment facility Prehospital phase is the focus of efforts to reduce deaths in combat TCCC Working Group includes trauma surgeons, EM physicians, internists, family physicians,Read More →
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3/5 Driver BE, et al. JAMA. 2018 May 16. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.6496. Question/Methods: This single-centre, randomized clinical trial enrolled 757 patients to compare first-attempt intubation success facilitated by the bougie to ETT plus stylet, in an ED where use of the bougie wasRead More →
Do you often get the components of scapholunate instability mixed up? Do you find this a tough one to teach to residents? Dr. Hendin has you covered – here she provides an great graphic to fully explain the Mayfield classification (scapholunate instability).Read More →
Methodology Score: 3.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4/5 Babl FE, et al. Lancet. 2017 Jun 17;389(10087):2393-2402. Question and Methods: This prospective observational study sought to externally validate and subsequently compare the relative performance of the PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE paediatric head injury CDRs. Findings: The validation cohort demonstrated a sensitivity of 100%Read More →