Minor Care series is back with more from the red eye! We've already covered conjunctivitis and scleritis, now for another high yield topic: Corneal Abrasions! Everyone seems to have their own way of treating these patients, but is it evidence based? Read on to find out what the literature says about this common complaint.
Read MoreUltrasound Case of the Month is Back! This month, a patient with several months of progressive dyspnea. Not acute, so not an ED problem? Think again! Read on to see what you might have missed if you didn't pick up an ultrasound probe...
Read MoreMore on the red eye! This time we discuss episcleritis and scleritis, two conditions that are often mistaken for each other. One of these conditions, however, can have detrimental consequences if missed. Read on to learn how to tell the difference and what to do about it once you've made the diagnosis.
Read MoreThis is our inaugural edition of the Ultrasound Case of the Month. In this case we examine an early pregnancy ultrasound with an unusual finding. Read on to learn about a measurement we are often not doing in the ED and what we may be missing.
Read MoreIt's been a busy night in the SRU. You've already sent two traumas to the OR, given tPA to an acute stroke, and sent a post-arrest patient up to the MICU. As you walk back to your computer to finally take a sip of now cold coffee, you notice there's a new patient in A2. The chief complaint, conjunctivitis. You sigh as you try to recall the differential for the red eye. You think to yourself, I wish they actually covered eyes in medical school. Read on to learn how to care majorly about a “minor” complaint. And no, all is not solved by some antibiotic drops.
Read MoreWe’re back again this week to discuss more about the initial approach to the MVC patient in B-pod. Last week we discussed occult bowel injury in the setting of blunt abdominal trauma. In the second episode of this topic, Dr. Powell also highlights the importance of an appropriate pain medication selection upon discharge from the emergency department, citing the importance to consciously avoid cavalier prescription of potentially habit-forming pain medications. But what kind of risk is involved when we send patients home with opioid prescriptions? Are they destined to seek out more?
Read MoreCertain pathology gets a lot of attention in medical school. Stroke? Sure! Tests love asking about which vessel is blocked based on clues from the physical exam. And rightly so; a fund of medical knowledge is certainly valuable when it comes to identifying pathology such as this. However, when faced with a problem like blunt trauma, i.e. the “MVC”, one may find that there are also many practical and logistical factors that require bedside experience, ranging from marshaling of resources to reconciling patient presentation with reported mechanism of injury...
Read MoreThere are many chief complaints in the emergency department that can be less than satisfying (*cough* abdominal pain *cough*). Sometimes such patients end up having a completely benign examination, no significant risk factors found on history, and an encounter that leaves you shrugging your shoulders and telling the patient “bellies will do that sometimes, we don’t always find out why.”
Of course, this is all anecdotal, but the chief complaint on this month’s episode seems to have a more consistent presence of pathology with a wide range of severity. With such heterogeneous pathophysiology we turn to the mind of Dr. Stewart Wright to discuss the initial approach to the patient with shortness of breath (SOB)...
Read MoreWe will all have the experience of taking care of a patient in the emergency department who is acting…different than they normally do. Sometimes, the change can be subtle, maybe a family member will be the first to notice and bring the patient to be evaluated. Sometimes the patient makes the change abundantly clear. In either case it is essential to identify the underlying cause and treat any emergent conditions precipitating this dysfunction of the brain. This month we hear from Dr. Erin McDonough on her approach to the patient with altered mental status (AMS).
Read MoreThis month we have the pleasure of discussing the chief complaint of “dizziness” with Dr. William Knight. In the attached podcast much of our discussion regarding this symptom focuses on stroke as a cause of this complaint. Even so, it is important to remember that not all patients who present to the emergency department with dizziness are experiencing a stroke. Quite the opposite; the majority of patients seeking care for feeling “dizzy” or “lightheaded” or “imbalanced” will have a cause other than restriction of blood flow to, or bleeding into, the posterior fossa.
Read MoreI don’t know if this has happened to you yet. It happened to me on my first shift as an intern. I hadn’t laid hand on a stethoscope in months. I had just unloaded the cardboard boxes from my rental truck into my new place. As I was settling in to my first few patient encounters one of our nurses approached me to say that a patient had been brought into our area that was extremely agitated. I looked up to see a man being held down by multiple police officers, thrashing and swearing.
“What can I give him?” She said.
“How about a hug?” I replied.
Read MoreWelcome to Bread and Butter Emergency Medicine; a back to basics, chief-complaint-based podcast series where we get a chance to pick the brains of various faculty members and residents regarding their plan of attack for a particular presenting symptom. Imagine your first shift in the emergency department (or think back on it if you’ve been doing this for a while); a man or woman with the label of “chest pain” or “headache” or “medication refill” is sat down in front of you, staring at you through the glass of your workstation.
Read MoreSRU (pronounced "shrew") = Shock Resuscitation Unit
Training in, and managing, the SRU is one of the crown jewels of our residency. It is where the sickest of the sick patients are found in our ED. It is a crucible, a test of knowledge and strength, and a true manifestation of the tripartite mission of our department: Leadership, Excellence, and Opportunity.
Training in, and managing, the SRU is one of the crown jewels of our residency. It is where the sickest of the sick patients are found in our ED. It is a crucible, a test of knowledge and strength, and a true manifestation of the tripartite mission of our department: Leadership, Excellence, and Opportunity.
