June, 2024

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ECG Blog #435 — Did Cath Show Acute Ischemia?

Ken Grauer, MD

The ECG in Figure-1 — was obtained from a middle-aged woman with positional tachycardia and diaphoresis with change of position from suprine to sitting. Although CP ( C hest P ain ) was not a prominent symptom — ACS ( A cute C oronary S yndrome ) was suspected from the chest lead T wave inversion seen on this ECG. QUESTIONS: How would YOU interpret the ECG in Figure-1 ?

EKG/ECG 433
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The VIP Syndrome In Healthcare (Very Important Person)

The Trauma Pro

The VIP syndrome occurs in healthcare when a celebrity or other well-connected “important” person receives a level of care that the average person does not. This situation was first documented in a paper published in the 1960s, which noted that VIP patients have worse outcomes. Who is a VIP? It may be a celebrity. A family member. Or even a colleague.

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ReBaked Morsel on Asthma Control – The 2020 NIH Asthma Management Guidelines

Pediatric EM Morsels

Knowing how to manage a severe asthma exacerbation in the ER is a vital ingredient to being a successful ER doctor, but what about the more mild cases? The kids with a history of wheezing that are at the start of a viral URI but not yet in the midst of an exacerbation? What recommendations should we be giving these families? Lucky for us, in 2020 there were some updates made to the NIH Asthma Management Guidelines and we’re going to discuss which ones can help us in the Emergency Department!

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How medical school fails students

Sensible Medicine

In prior posts, I was critical of the culture among trainees. One essay described the phenomenon of calling in fake sick. Another asked what the balance is between accommodation and the rigors of the job. These essays were about the effort, dedication and professionalism of trainees. Sensible Medicine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Bridging Innovation & Patient Care: The Growing Role of AI

Speaker: Simran Kaur, Co-founder & CEO at Tattva.Health

AI is transforming clinical trials—accelerating drug discovery, optimizing patient recruitment, and improving data analysis. But its impact goes far beyond research. As AI-driven innovation reshapes the clinical trial process, it’s also influencing broader healthcare trends, from personalized medicine to patient outcomes. Join this new webinar featuring Simran Kaur for an insightful discussion on what all of this means for the future of healthcare!

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Ten Tips for Better Presentations – Part 1

St. Emlyn

St.Emlyn's - Emergency Medicine #FOAMed Presentation skills - what are they and why do we need to have them? This post covers the things to consider before you even open any presentation software. The post Ten Tips for Better Presentations – Part 1 appeared first on St.Emlyn's.

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Another deadly triage ECG missed, and the waiting patient leaves before being seen. What is this nearly pathognomonic ECG?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

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?

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Prehospital: What’s The Best Chest Seal For Sucking Chest Wounds?

The Trauma Pro

The treatment of a “sucking chest wound” in the field has typically been with application of some type of occlusive dressing. Many times, a generic adhesive dressing is applied, typically the same kind used to cover IV sites. This is quick, easy, cheap, and readily available in the ambulance. But there is a danger that this could result in development of tension pneumothorax, because the dressing not only keeps air from getting in but also keeps any buildup of pneumothorax from getti

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Acute Transverse Myelitis in Children

Pediatric EM Morsels

Ooooo the infamous chief complaint of “ weakness ” ……. We just love those don’t we? Although neurological complaints may not be a crowd’s favorite, it is one we must become comfortable with. Timely recognition and treatment can be life-improving and life-saving! So, with that goal in mind, let us digest another delicious morsel on weakness – Acute Transverse Myelitis in Children : Acute Transverse Myelitis in Children: Basics Rare, non-compressive, inflammatory condition of the spinal cord

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When residents call out "fake sick"

Sensible Medicine

Recently I heard the story about a residency program where it is a cultural norm to call out “fake sick.” In other words, if a resident has a particularly long or rough day, if they feel they need some rest— even in the absence of fever, chills, drenching night-sweats and propulsive vomiting— they will call out “sick” Covering residents remark how interesting it is that fake sick days are usually on weekends or adjacent to weekends (Mon-Fri), and that this is

Wellness 139
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EMCrit 377 – Breaking News – The PREOXI Trial changes everything about Preoxygenation for Intubations in the Critically Ill

EMCrit

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 pediatric can’t intubate can’t oxygenate scenario (Use a knife)

First 10 EM

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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ECG Blog #434 — WHY Did this Patient Arrest?

Ken Grauer, MD

The ECG in Figure-1 — was obtained from a middle-aged man who presented to the ED ( E mergency D epartment ) in cardiac arrest. ROSC ( R eturn O f S pontaneous C irculation ) was obtained — and ECG #1 was recorded. In view of this history — How would YOU interpret the ECG in Figure-1 ? Should you activate the cath lab? Figure-1: The initial ECG in today's case. ( To improve visualization — I've digitized the original ECG using PMcardio ).

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10 Things That Will Get You Sued – Part 1

The Trauma Pro

Many trauma professionals believe that they can only be sued if they make a medical error and some harm occurs. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. Yes, this is one obvious way to spark a suit or claim. Unfortunately, it goes beyond that. Your patient may sue you if they even believe that they were harmed in some way, or think that something untoward happened while you were providing care.

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From Collision to Clarity: PECARN cervical spine injury prediction rule for injured children

ALiEM

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.

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A Discussion with Professor Venk Murthy on Coronary Artery Disease

Sensible Medicine

When I type the words coronary artery disease I bet that you picture angiograms with stenotic lesions— blockages in colloquial language. Indeed a high grade plaque from atherosclerosis in the inside of a coronary artery can limit flow to the heart muscle. But. But. Not as much as you think. You know why? Because there is something called the coronary microcirculation.

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PulmCrit: MidaKet for procedural sedation in critical illness

EMCrit

intro: the challenge of procedural sedation in critical illness Procedural sedation for critically ill patients is a minefield for several reasons: Patients are already physiologically unstable. Procedures are emergent (a factor widely associated with greater complications). Time constraints often prevent a complete pre-anesthetic evaluation (e.g., medical history and laboratory studies may be unknown).

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BiPAP for preoxygenation (the PREOXI trial)

First 10 EM

Preparation for intubation, appropriate preoxygenation, and preventing peri-intubation arrests has been one of my core topics for conference talks. My initial airway series emphasized “optimizing the basics” and carefully considering “is this patient ready for intubation?”. My “RSI and then they die” lecture is by far my most watched video on YouTube.

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ECG #433 — Which Lead Convinced Me?

Ken Grauer, MD

The ECG in Figure-1 was obtained from a previously healthy older man — who presented to the ED ( E mergency D epartment ) with new but atypical CP ( C hest P ain ) for several hours. QUESTIONS: Given this history — How would YOU interpret this ECG? Which lead is the most concerning? Figure-1: The initial ECG in today's case. ( To improve visualization — I've digitized the original ECG using PMcardio ).

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Why Do Trauma Patients Get Readmitted?

The Trauma Pro

Readmission of any patient to the hospital is considered a quality indicator. Was the patient discharged too soon for some reason? Were there any missed or undertreated injuries? Information from the Medicare system in the US (remember, this represents an older age group than the usual trauma patient) indicates that 18% of patients are readmitted and 13% of these are potentially preventable.

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ECG Cases 50 – STEMI: A Failed Paradigm, Enter Occlusion MI

Emergency Medicine Cases

Dr. Jesse McLaren illustrates the paradigm shift from STEMI to Occlusion MI (OMI) through 9 cases, and drives home the points that if there is STEMI criteria, consider false positives (eg. secondary and proportional to LVH or BER); if there is no STEMI criteria, consider false negatives and look for other signs of occlusion (eg. acute Q waves or loss of R waves, hyperacute T waves, or reciprocal STD/TWI) and if the ECG is nondiagnostic, consider other OMI signs including clinical (refractory isc

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Brain Safety After Pulsed Field Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Sensible Medicine

The richer a society gets the higher the rates of atrial fibrillation. Obesity, lack of exercise, alcohol use and advancing age are the main drivers of AF. The AF-treatment market size in the US is measured in the billions of dollars. It’s expected to grow at high rates, powered largely by expansion of catheter ablation. The new technology in ablation of AF is something called pulsed field ablation or PFA.

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PulmCrit: Bilevel Sequence Intubation (BSI) – The new standard

EMCrit

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.

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Cervical Spine Imaging in Kids – the PECARN rule

Don't Forget the Bubbles

Why is this study needed? Cervical spine injuries are a rare but serious finding following blunt trauma, affecting around 1-2% of presentations. In adult trauma cases, there has been significant research to help decide which patients require X-ray or CT imaging for possible cervical spine injuries, leading to the development of the National Emergency X-Ray (NEXUS) prediction rule and the Canadian C-Spine Rule (CCR).

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Normal angiogram one week prior. Must be myocarditis then?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Written by Magnus Nossen The patient in todays case is a 50 year old male. He has a medical hx notable for hypertension, hyperlipidemia and previous tobacco use disorder. The patient presented due to chest pain that was typical in nature, retrosternal and radiating to the left arm and neck. He denied any exertional chest pain. The below ECG was recorded.

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Updated: How To Detect Bucket Handle Injuries With CT

The Trauma Pro

A bucket-handle injury is a relatively uncommon complication of blunt trauma to the abdomen. It only occurs in a few percent of patients, but is much more likely if they have a seat belt sign. The basic pathology is that the bowel mesentery (small bowel of sigmoid colon) gets pulled away from the intestinal wall. This injury is problematic because it may take a few days for the bowel itself to die and perforate.

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The Andexxa Showpiece

EM Literature of Note

Every so often a masterclass performance arises in the medical literature. A performance transcending the boundaries of what was once thought possible. A shining exemplar of human achievement. This is a trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine , with the following features: Conducted by an institute sponsored by pharma. Designed by the first author, a consultant for pharma, and two employees of pharma.

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The Importance of Proper Control Arms

Sensible Medicine

This is a story about placebo effects. I raise the issue because the prominent journal JAMA-Psychiatry published a paper purporting to show that placebos have great effects in many psychiatric conditions. The erroneous conclusion provides excellent teaching points. First a Thought Experiment Say I gave 100 cyclists a red supplement designed to increase muscle contraction and increase pedal power.

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EMCrit Wee – Controlled Automated Reperfusion of the Whole Body (CARL) ECPR / ECLS Yields Amazing Results

EMCrit

Today, we talk about a paper that showed impressive neurologically intact survival for all-rhythms presenting in cardiac arrest, both OHCA and IHCA. It uses a new set of strategies and technologies called CARL. The Paper Treatment of Refractory Cardiac Arrest by Controlled Reperfusion of the Whole Body: A Multicenter, Prospective Observational Study Supplemental Material […] EMCrit Project by Scott Weingart, MD FCCM.

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Paediatric Emergency Medicine – Premier Conference – Day 1

St. Emlyn

St.Emlyn's - Emergency Medicine #FOAMed Discover the highlights of Day 1 at the Premier conference on Paediatric Emergency Medicine. The post Paediatric Emergency Medicine – Premier Conference – Day 1 appeared first on St.Emlyn's.

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A woman in her 50s with multiple episodes of syncope

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

By Sofiya Diurba MD, reviewed by Meyers, Grauer A woman in her 50s with PMH known RBBB and prior syncopal events presents to the ED for five syncopal events over the last 24 hours. Each event is associated with a prodrome of mild substernal CP, SOB, and “brain fog.” EMS reports intermittent sinus tachycardia and bradycardia secondary to some type of heart block during transport.

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The ETM Course Podcast is back! The Trauma Physician with Chris Bowles

ETM Course

We are excited to announce that after a hibernation period, the ETM Course podcast is back! In our first episode of the new podcast we talk to Dr Christine Bowles, Emergency Physician and Trauma Physician at St George Hospital, one of Sydney’s Major Trauma Centres. Also available on Apple Spotify YouTube iHeart Podchaser PlayerFM In this episode we talk in detail about the evolution of the “Trauma Physician” role and Emergency Physicians working on inpatient trauma services, th

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SGEM#443: Don’t Stop Me Now – REBOA for Hemorrhage Control in Trauma Patients?

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

Reference: Jansen et al. Emergency Department Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta in Trauma Patients With Exsanguinating Hemorrhage: The UK-REBOA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Date: June 10, 2024 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Rob Leeper is an intensivist, trauma surgeon, and general surgeon at Western University where he also serves as the director of the Royal College Surgical Foundations program.

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Are physician scientists and other part-timers good doctors?

Sensible Medicine

Recently, Aaron Goodman, a hematologist at UCSD, tweeted: It generated a backlash, particularly among doctors who run research labs, some e.g.s The dialog raises several adjacent questions Are physician scientists — people who mostly run labs and see patients 1/2 a day a week in clinic and 2-4 weeks a year in the hospital — good doctors ?

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Trick of the Trade: Ultrarapid adenosine push for SVT with a pressure bag

ALiEM

With some things in life, speed is everything. Adenosine is one of those things. With an ultrafast half-life estimated to be between 0.6 to 10 seconds [1], parenterally administered adenosine needs to reach the cells of the AV-node and cardiac pacemaker cells in an expedited fashion to facilitate the termination of supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs).

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JC: Does the outcome from refractory VF differ from recurrent VF in DOSE-VF patients?

St. Emlyn

St.Emlyn's - Emergency Medicine #FOAMed This secondary analysis of the DOSE VF trial highlights double sequential external defibrillation (DSED) as a superior strategy over standard and vector change defibrillation for refractory ventricular fibrillation (RVF) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, improving survival rates and neurological outcomes significantly.

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VF arrest at home, no memory of chest pain. Angiography non-diagnostic. Does this patient need an ICD? You need all the ECGs to know for sure.

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Written by Willy Frick A man in his 50s was at home with his family when they heard a thud and rushed into the room to find him unconscious with agonal respirations. His daughter immediately started CPR and another family member called EMS. When EMS arrived the patient was in ventricular fibrillation. They shocked him twice before return of spontaneous circulation.

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