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!
Alcohol: Beyond the “Breakfast Plan”
Acute alcohol intoxication and alcoholism are two separate and unique entities that we see regularly in the emergency department. As ER physicians, our role for the acutely intoxicated patient should focus on ruling out life threatening disease and ensuring their...
Therapeutic hypothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in children
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Moler FW, Silverstein FS, Holubkov R, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 May 14;372(20):1898-908. Full Article This prospective, multi-center RCT found no significant difference in...
Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the ED
Cellulitis and erysipelas – collectively referred to as skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) – are a seemingly simple entity to manage. Yet the burden of SSTIs and the complexity of this disease process may surprise you! From 1997 to...
Postural modification to the standard Valsalva manoeuvre for emergency treatment of supraventricular tachycardias (REVERT): a randomised controlled trial.
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4.5/5 Appelboam A, Reuben A, Mann C, et al. Lancet. 2015 Aug 24. pii: S0140-6736(15)61485-4. Full Article The REVERT trial, a pragmatic, multicenter RCT evaluating the efficacy of a...
Prospective validation of a 1-hour algorithm to rule-out and rule-in acute myocardial infarction using a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T assay
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Reichlin T, Twerenbold R, Wildi K, et al. CMAJ May 19, 2015 187:E243-E252; Full Article This multicenter study aiming to prospectively validate a 1 hour algorithm using a high sensitivity...
Medical expulsive therapy in adults with ureteric colic: a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4.5/5 Usefulness Score: 4.5/5 Pecard R, Starr K, MacLennan G, Lam T, et al. Published Online May 19, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60933-3 Full Article This high quality multicenter, randomized,...
Lactulose vs polyethylene glycol 3350–electrolyte solution for treatment of overt hepatic encephalopathy: the HELP randomized clinical trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3/5 Usefulness Score: 2.5/5 Rahimi RS, Singal AG, Cuthbert JA, Rockey DC. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Nov;174(11):1727-33 Full Article Editorial: Polyethylene Glycol for Hepatic Encephalopathy Polyethylene A New...
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria in defining severe sepsis
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 4/5 Usefulness Score: 3.5/5 Kaukonen KM, Bailey M, Pilcher D, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Apr 23;372(17):1629-38. Full Article This retrospective multicenter study found that the use of SIRS criteria to define...
Intravenous Subdissociative-Dose Ketamine Versus Morphine for Analgesia in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal Club Summary Methodology Score: 3.5/5 Usefulness Score: 2/5 Motov S, Rockoff B, Cohen V, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Mar 26. pii: S0196-0644(15)00191-2. Abstract Link This prospective, RCT found sub-dissociative ketamine (0.3mg/kg) and...


