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!
Focus on POCUS: Pleuritic Chest Pain with Tachycardia – Pericarditis or PE?
A young, previously healthy male in his 30s presents to the ED from his family physicians office with chest pain and an abnormal ECG. He has a 3-4 day history of non-radiating upper back pain and sensation of chest tightness that is pleuritic in nature and worse when...
The Top 10 Most Important Articles of 2016 (and some from 2015)
This is a summary of a talk given by Drs. Krishan Yadav and Maggie Kisilewicz at the National Capital Conference in Emergency Medicine. Below are brief summaries and a bottom line, but of course you'll have to read the literature yourself to make your own decisions!...
Comparison of Intravenous Ketorolac at Three Single-Dose Regimens for Treating Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 2.5/5 Usefulness Score: 3/5 Motov S, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Dec 14. pii: S0196-0644(16)31244-6. Abstract Link This randomized, double-blind study of the analgesic efficacy of ketorolac at three...
Restrictive versus liberal blood transfusion for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (TRIGGER): a pragmatic, open-label, cluster randomized feasibility trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Jairath V, et al. Lancet. 2015 Jul 11;386(9989):137-44 Abstract Link This open label, cluster randomized feasibility trial based in six university hospitals in the United Kingdom...
Bedside Diagnosis of the ‘Red Eye’: A Systematic Review
Summary Methodology Score: 2/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Narayana S, et al. Am J Med. 2015 Nov;128(11):1220-1224.e1. Abstract Link This review study looked at the diagnostic accuracy of physical exam findings for serious causes of red eye and...
PTSD for Emergency Physicians
For many of us in Emergency Medicine, PTSD is something we don’t really think about. We might pause before using ketamine for sedation in a war veteran, or seek psychological support for victims of sexual assault, but it is not a topic that we usually discuss or...
Development of the Canadian Syncope Risk Score to predict serious adverse events after emergency department assessment of syncope.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4/5 Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, et al. CMAJ. 2016 Sep 6;188(12):E289-98 Full Article This large multicenter prospective ED syncope study derived a methodologically robust risk tool for...
Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism among Patients Hospitalized for Syncope.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3.5/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Prandoni P, et al. N Engl J Med. 2016 Oct 20;375(16):1524-1531. Full Article This cross-sectional multi-center study of Italian patients admitted after an ED presentation for...
Blood, Salt, and CTs: An Update in Trauma for 2016
There were some notable papers published in trauma over the past 12 months or so. Here’s a look at three of them, which might help answer a few key questions in trauma management: When should you order a CT chest? What blood products should we be giving to trauma...
Emergency department point-of-care ultrasound in out-of-hospital and in-ED cardiac arrest
Journal Club Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Gaspari R, et al. Resuscitation. 2016 Sep 28;109:33-39. Abstract Link This prospective, per-protocol observational study is now the largest study on the point of care ultrasound in cardiac arrest...
