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!
Comparison of risk scoring systems for patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding: international multicentre prospective study.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 4/5 Stanley AJ, et al. BMJ. 2017 Jan 4;356:i6432. Full Article Summary This multicentre, multinational study assessed the ability of five upper gastrointestinal bleeding scores to predict...
Prophylactic hydration to protect renal function from intravascular iodinated contrast material in patients at high risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (AMACING): a prospective, randomised, phase 3, controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Nijssen EC, et al Lancet. 2017 Feb 20. [Epub ahead of print] Abstract Link This prospective, open-label, single centre, randomized trial of 660 patients found no hydration...
Zika Virus – What we know and what we don’t
The Zika Virus exploded onto the international health scene in the last several months. It was first discovered in humans in 1951 and remained limited to Africa and Asia until the first major outbreak in Micronesia in 2007. Since then the virus has continued to evolve...
Video Laryngoscopy vs Direct Laryngoscopy on Successful First-Pass Orotracheal Intubation Among ICU Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3/5 Lascarrou JB, et al. JAMA. 2017 Feb 7;317(5):483-493. Abstract Link This study was an open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted at 7 ICUs in France that found video...
Risk of Acute Kidney Injury After Intravenous Contrast Media Administration
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Hinson JS, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2017 Jan 19 [Epub ahead of print] Full Article In this large, well-designed retrospective study of AKI following contrast administration for CT...
Pediatric Airway Management in the Emergency Department
Pediatric endotracheal intubation is an uncommon procedure in the Emergency Department (ED); even in high volume tertiary pediatric centres the incidence has been reported at 8-10/10,000 patients. While infrequent, pediatric airway management is...
Effect of Noninvasive Ventilation Delivered by Helmet vs. Facemask on the Rate of Endotracheal Intubation in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Patel BK, et al. JAMA. 2016 Jun 14;315(22):2435-41 Full Article Editorial: Unmasking a Role for Noninvasive Ventilation in Early Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Beitler JR, et al. JAMA. 2016 Jun...
Focus on POCUS: Subacute, Progressive Dyspnea while Swimming
A male in his 60’s presents with progressive dyspnea on exertion x 1 month starting while he was swimming in the ocean. He had not been diving. He has no significant medical history and takes no medications. Two weeks after the onset of symptoms the patient had seen...
Diagnosis of Acute Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema (ACPE) with Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Point-of-Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) is a valuable tool in the diagnostic armamentarium of the emergency physician. We have been successfully using it to the place lines, diagnose AAAs and assess the cardiac function of our dyspnea patients for awhile...
Clindamycin versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin infections
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Miller LG, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Mar 19;372(12):1093-103. Full Article Editorial: Choosing an antibiotic for skin infections. Wessels MR N Engl J Med. 2015 Mar...