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!
Selected Imaging Controversies in ED Trauma
Traumatic injuries are amongst the most common presentations for all emergency departments (ED). In 2010, there were over 1 million patients in Canada who visited the ED for trauma, result in an cost of almost 9 billion dollars.1 Yet, in spite of their frequency,...
An Analysis of Paralysis: Neuromuscular blocking agents in the Emergency Department
In this post, we will discuss the use of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) for intubation in the Emergency Department; we will focus on considerations in predicted difficult airways (RSI vs. awake intubation), Rocuronium vs. Succinylcholine, and the indications...
An Update: Rate Control in Atrial Fibrillation
In this post, we will discuss updates and controversies surrounding rate control in Afib, specifically we will: Review the new 2017 CAEP Afib best practices guidelines Review Tachycardia Induced Cardiomyopathy Review Afib and Type 2 ACS Discuss the identification and...
Diagnosis of Necrotising Soft Tissue Infection
Necrotising soft tissue infections are an significant cause of morbidity and mortality, so an timely diagnosis is critical for the Emergency Physician. Here we discuss the publication of a new systematic review and meta-analysis on this challenging diagnostic entity,...
Meningitis in the ED Patient
Meningitis is defined as the inflammation of the membranes of the brain and/or spinal cord. The incidence of bacterial meningitis is in the range of 5-10 cases per 100,000 patients per year1. Despite modern medical therapy, it is associated with a case fatality rate...
Prehospital antibiotics in the ambulance for sepsis: a multicentre, open label, randomised trial
Journal Club Summary Alam N, et al. Lancet Respir Med. 2018 Jan;6(1):40-50. Question and Methods: The authors of this nation-wide open-label RCT studied the mortality effect of pre-hospital antibiotics on febrile patients with one other non-laboratory SIRS criteria...
Management Controversies in Traumatic Cardiac Arrest
The management of traumatic cardiac arrest differs significantly from the management of medical cardiac arrest, however the management is often lumped together. In this weeks Grand Rounds summary Dr. Nicholas Costain takes us through some controversies in the...
Efficacy of High-Sensitivity Troponin T in Identifying Very-Low-Risk Patients With Possible Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Journal Club Summary Methodology: 3.5/5 Usefulness: 3/5 Peacock WF, et al. JAMA Cardiol. 2017 Dec 13 EDITORIAL: The Wait for High-Sensitivity Troponin Is Over-Proceed Cautiously Korley FK. JAMA Cardiol. 2017 Dec 13 Question and Methods: This prospective,...
ED Crowding: Is it Getting Cramped in Here?
In this post, we take a deep dive into the ever-present issue of ED crowding, going beyond the basic input-throughput-output model and focusing on institutional and provincial strategies for managing patient flow and overcrowding. We will cover the following...










