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 Anxiety Prescription
It is with increasing frequency that we are seeing higher volumes of patients presenting to their family physicians and the Emergency Department with complaints related to anxiety. It was certainly an issue that was noticed pre-COVID19, but the effect that the...
Effect of C-Reactive Protein-Guided Antibiotic Treatment Duration, 7-Day Treatment, or 14-Day Treatment on 30-Day Clinical Failure Rate in Patients with Uncomplicated Gram-Negative Bacteremia: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Methodology: 1/5 Usefulness: 1/5 von Dach E, et al. JAMA. 2020 Jun 2;323(21):2160-2169. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.6348. Question and Methods: In a multi-center, noninferiority, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial, the authors compared the rates of...
Quality Improvement (QI) in the ED
As part of a Quality Improvement initiative you are tasked with improving ED length of stay for patients presenting with ankle pain. You remember learning about the Ottawa Ankle Rules to help screen which patients require ankle x-rays. How will you implement that...
Palliative Care in the ED – Part 2
We are back with Part-2 of our blog series on Palliative Care in the ED. If you haven't already check-out Part 1 HERE. In this series, we will delve into the subject further by exploring the following topics: Screening Tools: The Old and the New Education and...
Lower or Higher Oxygenation Targets for Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Schjørring OL, et al. N Engl J Med. 2021 Apr 8;384(14):1301-1311. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2032510. Question and Methods: Can a lower PaO2 target (i.e., 60mmHg) compared to higher PaO2 target (i.e., 90mmHg) decrease all cause 90...
Palliative Care in the ED – Part 1
Pulling back the Pall from palliative care The word pall refers to a traditional death shroud or a dark cloud of dust or smoke. The aim of this blog post is both explore some of the inequities and recommendations for the palliative care landscape today, but also to...
Prospective validation of Canadian TIA Score and comparison with ABCD2 and ABCD2i for subsequent stroke risk after transient ischaemic attack: multicentre prospective cohort study
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 4/5 Perry JJ, et al. BMJ. 2021 Feb 4;372:n49. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n49. Question and methods: This multicenter prospective cohort study validates the Canadian TIA Score and compares it to the ABCD2 and ABCD2i score to identify risk...
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
This Thursday, September 30th, marks the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new federal statutory holiday. As per the Canadian government, this day “honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities”....
Pharmacologic Therapies in Patients With Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 4.5/5 Dobler CC, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Mar 17;172(6):413-422. Questions & Methods: Systematic review of 68 English language RCTs of outpatient/non ICU inpatients with COPDE comparing pharmacologic therapy with placebo/...
Flow Hacks for the Emergency Physician Round 2!
I've previously talked about flow hacks for the Emergency Physician - with emphasis on: Avoiding reassessment land Grabbing multiple 'charts' Increasing actions per minute An emphasis on 'shift rhythm' rather than number of patients seen when evaluating learners In...