Evaluation of pediatric head trauma, especially the decision to obtain advanced imaging has significant risk/benefit trade-offs. Three major studies have been performed to aid the emergency physician and parents in this decision.
This is an excellent 30,000 ft view of diaster medicine. Disaster means demand > resources – goal is to keep it an ‘incident’ and not a ‘disaster’. What constitutes a disaster may differ by facility, time of day, impact on the facility itself (damaged facilities or systems canno
This ultrasound is from a young pregnant woman presenting with lower abdominal pain without vaginal bleeding. History of two previous unexplained spontaneous abortions and a known large fibroid. The physical exam was unremarkable but bedside transabdominal ultrasound was performed
The names of the major coronary arteries are well known. However, the nomenclature of the secondary coronary arteries can be confusing. Familiarity with the names of these vessels is useful when reading coronary angiogram reports, having discussions with your interventionalist, and do
What is the etiology of peripartum cardiomyopathy? The etiology is unknown; multiple etiologies have been proposed. The most substantiated etiology is viral myocarditis.. It is thought that the relative immunosuppression of pregnancy may increase the risk of viral myocarditis (JEM, V.
For disaster situations, if we should we need to expand beyond our standard critical care beds, we have put together bedside kits (based on a colleague’s plan at the Royal London trauma center). There are 20 adult and 10 peds (age <8) bins. They are stored in a closet that
Obtaining a non-contrast Head CT is one of the critical actions in evaluation of neurologic symptoms concerning for acute stroke. Evaluating the images involves scanning for the following features of ischemia of the brain parenchyma. Hypoattenuation involving one-third or more of the
Globe rupture is a serious injury and requires immediate medical attention. Sometimes globe rupture is obvious. The eye can be misshapen with uveal tissue prolapsing out of an anterior scleral or corneal wound. Other times, there may still be an identifiable foreign body present. With
While it is often hard to find the bottle around our ED, gentian violent is an excellent treatment for tongue thrush in kids. It almost instantly dissolves off the plaques. However, be careful because the liquid stains EVERYTHING it touches and does not come off. So don't spill it in
This 45-year-old woman with a medical history which includes medication-controlled essential hypertension, stage 2 chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and a 1 pack-per-day cigarette smoking habit presented to the emergency department with <60 minutes of acute onset
Ingestions of greater than 5000 mcg is considered a potentially toxic dose. Acute overdoses tend to be well tolerated. The symptoms of elevated T4 are not evident until 2-5 days following ingestion. Measured levels do not correlate well with either ingestion amounts or development/sev