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!
Transgender Health in the ED
Transgender awareness is currently at an all time high, helped by portrayals in award winning shows such as Orange is the New Black and Transparent, and also by the recent public transition of Caitlyn Jenner. Transgender health is also an emerging area of research,...
Part 1: Executive Summary: 2015 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4/5 Neumar RW, Shuster M, Callaway CW, et al. Circulation. 2015 Nov 3;132 (18 Suppl 2):S315-67 Full Article The 2015 update to the AHA guidelines on CPR and ECC, though not a complete revision of the...
Idarucizumab for Dabigatran Reversal.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 2.5/5 Usefulness Score: 3/5 Pollack CV Jr, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Aug 6;373(6):511-20 Full Article This prospective cohort study demonstrated that a new dagbigatran reversal agent, idarucizumab, completely...
Refugee Health: A Framework for Emergency Physicians
In our current political and social climate, refugee health is undoubtedly going to become an increasingly prevalent Emergency Department (ED) issue. In the past few years, Canada has been accepting an average of 25 000 refugees from all over the world each...
Trial of Continuous or Interrupted Chest Compressions during CPR.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4.5/5 Nichol G, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Dec 3;373(23):2203-14 Abstract Link Editorial: Continuous or Interrupted Chest Compressions for Cardiac Arrest Koster RW. N Engl J Med. 2015;...
Another stroke update! (Last one! For now..)
Ischemic stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack have been a vigorously studied subject, particularly in the past few years. With numerous updates and recommendations, we will provide an updated guide for Emergency Physicians in regards to ischemic stroke...
Mechanical versus manual chest compression for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (PARAMEDIC): a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Perkins GD, et al. Lancet. 2015 Mar 14;385(9972):947-55 Full Article This was a cluster-randomized, pragmatic trial looking at mechanical CPR with the LUCAS-2 device versus...
Low-dose ketamine improves pain relief in patients receiving intravenous opioids for acute pain in the emergency department: results of a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Beaudoin FL, et al. Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Nov;21(11):1193-202 Full Article This pilot, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial demonstrates that ketamine at...
To ‘Roid or not to ‘Roid: Steroids in the ED!
Steroids have been used in medicine for their immune-modulating effects for decades, but how much of their use is actually evidence based? Here we review the most recent literature for their use in four select presentations often seen in the Emergency...
Randomized Trial of Apneic Oxygenation during Endotracheal Intubation of the Critically Ill
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 2.5/5 Usefulness Score: 3/5 Semler MW, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print] Abstract Link This randomized, open-label, pragmatic trial of 150 adults undergoing intubation in a medical...