Emergency Medicine Cases

APRIL 2, 2024

In this part 2 of our 2-part podcast on asthma with Dr. Sameer Mal and Dr. Leeor Sommer, we dig into the recognition and management of life-threatening asthma. We answer such questions as: what are the key elements in recognition of threatening asthma? What are the most time-sensitive interventions required to break the vicious cycle of asthma? What are the best options for dosing and administering magnesium sulphate, epinephrine, fentanyl and ketamine in the management of the crashing asthmatic

Epinephrine 341

Epinephrine EMS 341

EMS 12-Lead

MAY 15, 2024

TCP in the ROSC Patient: False Electrical Capture at 75mA Josh Kimbrell, NRP @joshkimbre Judah Kreinbrook, EMT-P @JMedic2JDoc This is the second installment of a blog series showing how transcutaneous pacing (TCP) can be difficult and how you can improve your skills. We will be using redacted information from different cases where paramedics attempted TCP in the field.

Epinephrine 331

Epinephrine Paramedic CPR ED 331

ALiEM

JUNE 10, 2024

For years, adult literature has provided clear guidelines for cervical spine imaging through the NEXUS and Canadian C-spine Rule (CCR) tools. These have been invaluable in helping clinicians decide when to image the neck in trauma patients. Similarly, the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) has developed robust tools for assessing blunt head trauma in children.

Emergency Department 317

Emergency Department ED OR 317

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

JUNE 8, 2024

Reference: Kruse et al. Systematic Review, Quality Assessment, and Synthesis of Guidelines for Emergency Department Care of Transgender and Gender-diverse People Recommendations for Immediate Action to Improve Care. WJEM December 2023 Date: May 30, 2024 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Kay Dingwell is a rural emergency physician working in Prince County, PEI with a special interest in gender-affirming care and improving the care of trans and gender-diverse patients.

Emergency Department 307

Emergency Department ED ALS Paramedic 307

Pediatric EM Morsels

JULY 19, 2024

Previously, we covered Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage and how we hope that “all bleeding eventually stops: ideally, by means that we have imposed rather than by exhaustion of the patient’s RBC resources.” Since the original morsel ( way back in 2012 ), the literature has shown that there are a few extra ingredients that we can add to our morsel recipe when we care for children with post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage.

E-9-1-1 285

E-9-1-1 Epinephrine Emergency Department OR 285

American Ambulance Association

JULY 23, 2024

To the Editor of The Guardian, On July 21, The Guardian published Jessica Glenza’s “Plan to end exorbitant ‘surprise’ ambulance bills heads to Congress.” The inflammatory title and lack of […] The post What The Guardian Missed About US Ambulance Balance Billing appeared first on American Ambulance Association.

Ambulance 278

Ambulance 278

High Performance EMS

AUGUST 9, 2024

Dispatching the right unit to an EMS call was much simpler when all resources had the same capabilities and a response time was the primary measure of success. It was a matter of determining which crew was available closest to the scene. Some computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software did better than others by considering the average travel time of an actual route instead of allowing nearness to be determined by a straight-line distance.

BLS 264

BLS CAD Advanced Life Support Life Support 264

EMCrit Project

AUGUST 26, 2024

We often joke that the right ventricle is the “forgotten ventricle,” but there is a sad truth behind this joke. Recently, there has been increased recognition of the importance of right ventricle failure and systemic congestion within some circles (e.g., nephrologists and resuscitationists). However, overall the right ventricular failure continues to be commonly overlooked.

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FirstNet Authority

AUGUST 21, 2024

FirstNet Authority Advances Network Coverage Investment with Focus on Territories, Tribal Nations, Rural Areas Press Releases michelle.fordi… Wed, 08/21/2024 - 10:08 The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Created in 2012, its mission is to ensure the building, deployment, and operation of the nationwide broadband network that equips first responders to save lives and protect U.S. communities.

First Responder 139

First Responder 139

St. Emlyn's

JULY 9, 2024

St.Emlyn's - Emergency Medicine #FOAMed A podcast with Steve Smith ECG educator extraordinaire where we discuss occlusive myocardial infarction and the future of AI and ECG interpretation. The post Podcast – Occlusive Myocardial Infarction, ECGs and Artificial Intelligence with Steve Smith appeared first on St.Emlyn's.

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Emergency Medicine Cases

AUGUST 19, 2024

We over-admit low risk acute heart failure patients and under-admit high risk heart failure patients. In this podcast we discuss the diagnostic accuracy of various clinical features, lab tests and imaging modalities for acute heart failure, the 3 validated risk stratification tools and a simple approach to PoCUS for the diagnosis and prognostication of acute heart failure in the ED to improve our diagnostic accuracy and disposition decisions for patients with acute heart failure.

ED 286

ED EMS 286

EMS 12-Lead

MARCH 30, 2024

TCP In Transit: A case reviewing transcutaneous pacing, false electrical capture, and re-arrest. Josh Kimbrell, NRP @joshkimbre Judah Kreinbrook, EMT-P @JMedic2JDoc This is the first installment of a blog series showing how transcutaneous pacing (TCP) can be difficult, and how you can improve your skills. We will be using redacted information from different cases where paramedics attempted TCP in the field.

CPR 312

CPR Paramedic Ambulance Defibrillator 312

ALiEM

MARCH 18, 2024

A 30-year-old female with a past medical history of Crohn’s Disease presented to the ED for evaluation of an acutely bruised right 4th finger. She stated she was typing on a computer keyboard approximately 10 minutes prior to presentation and she noticed a sudden popping sensation at the base of her right ring finger. After the popping sensation, she noticed a cool sensation of the finger and numbness to the entire finger.

Emergency Department 306

Emergency Department ED OR 306

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

AUGUST 31, 2024

Date: August 30, 2024 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Mel Herbert is a famous Emergency Medicine Physician, award-winning educator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Mel founded both EM:RAP which creates and distributes Emergency Medicine education in over 160 countries. He also started a non-profit company called EM:RAP GO. This is an SGEM Xtra to end Season#12.

OR 259

OR 259

Pediatric EM Morsels

MARCH 29, 2024

Often our job requires us to consider the presence of needles of significant illness in the haystack of nonspecific symptoms. With the help of our favorite geneticist , Dr. Liz Baker, we will dive into the haystack headfirst and find those needles. Hopefully, without getting poked. Let’s consider Inborn Errors of Metabolism Presenting in the ED : Inborn Errors of Metabolism: Basics Common Presentations, Uncommon Kiddos For the child with lethargy, vomiting, acidosis, hypoglycemia , organom

ED 289

ED Plasma OR EMS 289

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 17, 2024

Written by Bobby Nicholson, MD 67 year old male with history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia presented to the Emergency Department via ambulance with midsternal nonradiating chest pain and dyspnea on exertion. Pain improved to 1/10 after EMS administers 324 mg aspirin and the following EKG is obtained at triage. What do you think? If this EKG were handed to you to screen from triage without any clinical information, what would you think?

E-9-1-1 137

E-9-1-1 ACS Emergency Department Coronary 137

High Performance EMS

MARCH 8, 2024

There is plenty of data in the world, the key to improving performance is to discover the right information and make an appropriate decision, based on facts, in time to change outcomes for the better. Computers are quite useful in aggregating and processing data to distill information in support of the decision-making process, but artificial intelligence and machine-learning has increased our expectations of cyber assistance.

Public Safety 278

Public Safety OR 278

First 10 EM

APRIL 2, 2024

Give your patients a break. Nobody is a perfect diagnostician. Not even the best trained physician can determine, with 100% accuracy, which patients have serious pathology. Even with advanced testing, we aren’t close to perfect. However, if you listen to the subtext of breakroom complaints, it seems like we expect patients to be better diagnosticians […] The post Are you a perfect diagnostician?

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EMOttawa

JANUARY 25, 2024

Mechanical ventilation has a lot of nuance associated with it, but a lot of reference guides focus on care in the ICU. There is certainly a need for more practical application for the ED doc or initial setup of patients on the vent. With both ER and ICU experience, this post acts as a quick […] The post Mechanical Ventilation Basics appeared first on EMOttawa Blog.

ICU 142

ICU ED OR Critical Care 142

NVFC

AUGUST 13, 2024

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has been awarded an FY 2023 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to further its firefighter health and safety initiatives and reduce line-of-duty injuries and deaths. The grant initiatives will focus specifically on emergency responder behavioral health.

Firefighter 122

Firefighter First Responder EMS Emergency Management 122

EMCrit Project

JUNE 17, 2024

introduction Bilevel Sequence Intubation (BSI) refers to initiation of noninvasive bilevel positive pressure ventilation with a backup rate prior to intubation (either using a BiPAP machine or a full-featured mechanical ventilator). BSI is distinct from traditional rapid sequence intubation (RSI), since BSI involves the delivery of machine-initiated, pressure-controlled breaths following administration of sedation and paralytics. […] EMCrit Project by Josh Farkas.

OR 129

OR 129

Emergency Medicine Cases

MAY 28, 2024

Once the diagnosis of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has been made, our job is not done. Mortality in SAH patients can be up to 30% even without neurological deficit. Paying attention to the time-sensitive details of ED management of SAH patients can have a significant impact on their outcome. In this second part of our 2-part podcast series on subarachnoid hemorrhage with Dr.

ED 305

ED EMS 305

EMS 12-Lead

APRIL 9, 2024

David Didlake @DidlakeDW EMS personnel responded to the residence of an 81 y/o Male with syncope. His spouse had called 911 after she heard a loud “thud” in the adjacent room. He was found altered, hypotensive, and with a large hematoma to the left periorbital region. No 12 Lead ECG was captured, but telemetry did reveal the following: The spouse offers a pertinent medical history to include HTN and HLD, and furthermore states that he hasn’t previously complained of any chest discomfort, or shor

Coronary 290

Coronary ACS CAD ED 290

ALiEM

MARCH 5, 2024

Which medication can be derived from the bark of the pictured tree? Aspirin Atropine Colchicine Quinine Reveal the Answer 1. Aspirin Background The photo shows a weeping willow, a member of the Salix genus of trees. Willow tree bark contains salicin from which aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) can be derived. For over 3500 years, willow bark has been used as a traditional medicine to treat fevers and pain [1].

OR 286

OR 286

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

MARCH 2, 2024

Reference: Gibbons et al. The sonographic protocol for the emergent evaluation of aortic dissections (SPEED protocol): A multicenter, prospective, observational study. AEM February 2024. Date: February 28, 2024 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Neil Dasgupta is an emergency medicine physician and ED intensivist from Long Island, NY. He is the Vice Chair of the Emergency Department at Nassau University […] The post SGEM#432: SPEED, Give Me What I Need – To Diagnose Acute Aortic Dissections first appeared on Th

Operating Room 300

Operating Room Emergency Department ALS ED 300

Pediatric EM Morsels

JULY 26, 2024

We have discussed many causes of encephalitis and encephalopathy previously (ex, Eastern Equine Encephalitis , Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy , FIRES , Reye’s Syndrome ) and have highlighted the fact that they can be challenging to diagnose early. An irritated brain can lead to such a wide array of symptoms. It is even more challenging when the initial symptoms seem to align with what we perceive as psychiatric concerns.

Plasma 265

Plasma OR ED Critical Care 265

St. Emlyn's

JULY 14, 2024

St.Emlyn's - Emergency Medicine #FOAMed Background – What do we already know about REBOA? In 2023, Dr Zaf Qasim reviewed the UK REBOA trial for us on St Emlyn’s (The UK-REBOA trial – Has the […] The post JC: Prehospital Partial Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) for Exsanguinating Subdiaphragmatic Hemorrhage appeared first on St.Emlyn's.

Critical Care 126

Critical Care 126

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Written by Pendell Meyers A woman in her 30s called EMS for acute symptoms including near-syncope, nausea, diaphoresis, and abdominal pain. EMS arrived and found her to appear altered, critically ill, and hypotensive. An ECG was performed: What do you think? Extremely wide complex monomorphic rhythm just over 100 bpm. The QRS is so wide and sinusoidal that the only real possibilities left are hyperkalemia or Na channel blockade.

EMS 135

EMS STEMI ED OR 135

First 10 EM

JUNE 24, 2024

A can’t intubate can’t oxygenate scenario will always be scary, but after years of mental rehearsal and some real world experience, the idea of surgical front of neck access in an adult doesn’t bother me much. (I think that is an important mental space for emergency physicians to find if you want to be able […] The post The pediatric can’t intubate can’t oxygenate scenario (Use a knife) appeared first on First10EM.

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EMOttawa

MARCH 14, 2024

Posterior circulation ischemia accounts for approximately 20-25% of all ischemic strokes and is a significant cause of patient disability. The diagnosis can be extremely challenging as findings are often not typically focal. Posterior strokes are misdiagnosed more than 3x more often than anterior circulation strokes.1 Similar to anterior circulation strokes, posterior strokes are most commonly […] The post Posterior Circulation Strokes appeared first on EMOttawa Blog.

Critical Care 139

Critical Care ICU 139

FOAMfrat

APRIL 25, 2024

In this episode, we discuss a recent paper on false electrical capture and pre-hospital transcutaneous pacing by paramedics. The guests, Tom Boutilet, Josh Kimbrell, and Judah Kreinbrook, discuss their research findings and the implications for paramedics. They conducted a retrospective study and found that paramedics often mistakenly believe they have electrical capture when they do not.

Paramedic 128

Paramedic ACS EMS ED 128

Life in the Fastlane

MAY 18, 2024

Kane Guthrie Cardiac Arrest – the 5 C’s Cardiac Arrest - the 5 C's with Cliff Reid. Causes Of Cardiac Arrest You NEVER Thought Of?! Meet The Hs & Ts & Cs!

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Emergency Medicine Cases

APRIL 2, 2024

In this ECG Cases blog, Jesse McLaren and Rajiv Thavanathan explore how ECG and POCUS complement each other for patients presenting to the emergency department with shortness of breath or chest pain. They explain complementary diagnostic insights into pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade, occlusion MI and RV strain. The post ECG Cases 49 – ECG and POCUS for Dyspnea and Chest Pain appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

Emergency Department 302

Emergency Department OR STEMI EMS 302

NVFC

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

On December 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize the agency’s “Fire Brigades” standard. This standard was first published and last updated in 1980. This proposed updated standard would issue several new requirements that would be very burdensome, and in many cases impossible, for volunteer fire departments to comply with.

Emergency Response 131

Emergency Response 131

EMCrit Project

JUNE 13, 2024

the PREOXI trial validates what I have been saying for 15 years about preoxygenation for the critically ill patient EMCrit Project by Scott Weingart, MD FCCM.

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The Skeptics' Guide to EM

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Reference: McLatchie et al and DAShED investigators. Diagnosis of Acute Aortic Syndrome in the Emergency Department (DAShED) study: an observational cohort study of people attending the emergency department with symptoms consistent with acute aortic syndrome. EMJ Nov 2023. Date: February 11, 2024 Guest Skeptic: Nirdosh Ashok Kumar, Emergency Medicine Specialist – Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. […] The post SGEM#430: De Do Do Do, De Dash, Dash DAShED – Diagnosing Acute Aortic Sy

ED 301

ED Emergency Department ALS OR 301

Pediatric EM Morsels

AUGUST 23, 2024

Concussions are commonly encountered in the Emergency Department. We have previously discussed an approach to the question of when a patient “ can return to sport.” That recommendation has been revised ( calling for us to Rebake this Morsel ) and now also pays specific attention to the important aspect of scholastic activities. Let’s take a quick minute to digest a morsel on the current concussion in sport recommendations with respect to Return to Learn and Return to Sport : Re

Emergency Department 243

Emergency Department OR ED EMS 243