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!
Advanced reperfusion strategies for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and refractory ventricular fibrillation (ARREST): a phase 2, single centre, open-label, randomised controlled trial
Methodology: 3.5/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Yannopoulos D, et al. Lancet. 2020 Dec 5;396(10265):1807-1816. Question and Methods: The ARREST trial was a phase 2, single centre, open-label, RCT comparing early ECMO facilitated resuscitation to ED-based standard ACLS care for...
EDI Corner and Black History Month
The Equity, Diversion and Inclusion committee in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa recognizes that bias and discrimination are barriers to patients receiving appropriate and compassionate care. We seek to disseminate knowledge,...
CNS Compartment Syndrome: Cerebral Venous Thrombosis
Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a thrombotic disease of the cerebral veins and major dural sinuses. It is a rare kind of venous thromboembolism and can also be thought of as a type of stroke. CVT accounts for 0.5-1% of stroke cases. The annual incidence is 0.2 –...
Effect of Nebulized Magnesium vs Placebo Added to Albuterol on Hospitalization Among Children With Refractory Acute Asthma Treated in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Methodology: 4.5/5 Usefulness: 4/5 Schuh S, et al. JAMA. 2020 Nov 24;324(20):2038-2047. Question and Methods: RCT assessing the effectiveness of nebulized magnesium versus placebo in children presenting with an acute asthma exacerbation refractory to standard therapy,...
Episode One Shownotes: GI Bleeds & TTM
Dr. Rajiv Thavanathan sits down with Dr. Jim Yang to talk about some of the best high impact trials in the last year in Emergency Medicine. Which patients with a GI bleed need urgent endoscopy, and which patients ACTUALLY need targeted temperature management (TTM)...
Plaster cast versus functional brace for non-surgical treatment of Achilles tendon rupture (UKSTAR): a multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation
Methodology: 3.5/5 Usefulness: 3.5/5 Costa ML et al. Lancet. 2020 Feb 8;395(10222):441-448. Question and Methods: The UKSTAR trial was a pragmatic, multicenter RCT that compared plaster cast against walking boot for non-operative management of Achilles tendon rupture...
Reframing your Charting
I've written about it previously - but, patient's 'bouncing back' to the Emergency Department (ED) after discharge has always been perceived as a negative thing, but I think that this is an inadequate lens to view patient care. The patient returned to the ED? Good,...
Hyoscine butylbromide versus acetaminophen for nonspecific colicky abdominal pain in children: a randomized controlled trial
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 1/5 Poonai N, et al. CMAJ. 2020 Nov 30;192(48):E1612-E1619. Question and Methods: Randomized control trial assessing effect of hyoscine butylbromide (HBB) vs acetaminophen in nonspecific colicky pain in pediatric patients aged 8-17yo....
Pneumothorax in the Emergency Department – Part 2
In Part 1 of our 2-part series on Pneumothorax, Dr. Simon Wells walked us through the varying definitions, epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, and imaging findings of pneumothorax including on point of care ultrasound (POCUS). Click here to review Part 1. In today's...
Mifepristone and misoprostol versus misoprostol alone for the management of missed miscarriage (MifeMiso): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Methodology: 4/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Chu JJ, et al. Lancet. 2020 Sep 12;396(10253):770-778. Editorial: Medical management of miscarriage with mifepristone Question and Methods: This multi-centre, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial compares spontaneous...