Tamingthesru
The CBC and the Man Behind the Curtain
It’s been called “the refuge of the intellectually destitute (physician)” by Amal Muttu. The CBC is a much maligned test that is nevertheless one of the the most frequently ordered diagnostic tests in the ED. To truly know how to interpret this test, one must understand its individual components, the possible causes of variations from normal for those components, and how it integrates into the clinical presentation of the patient. Also, it can’t help but to know and understand some of the historical background…
The Importance of the RUG
It is early on in your residency training, when you receive sign-out of a patient who was involved in an MVC with multiple injuries including a stable pelvic injury. The patient, a middle-aged male, has not voided three hours into his visit and there is no mention of any obvious genital trauma. He has had a negative FAST exam in addition to the rest of your primary and secondary assessment. The patient mentions to the nurse that he is trying to urinate but cannot void and has some discomfort. The bladder scan shows that the patient has about 500cc of urine and when the nurse goes to place a urinary catheter she pauses as she sees what appears to be dried blood at the urethral opening. After reassessing the patient who is still hemodynamically stable with normal mentation, his findings are discussed with Urology who recommend getting a retrograde urethrogram prior to any additional procedures.
Massive Transfusion Triggers: Back to the ABCs (score)
Massive Transfusion (MT) is a life-saving trigger in trauma centers, but heavy is the burden of activating significant resources without knowing the blood products will go to good use. The ABC is the ACS recommendation, is easy and requires no additional testing, however newer weighted scores like PWH and TASH have showed promise in external validations. This week, Dr. Laurence takes a deep dive into the literature behind these triggers, their validation as well as some take aways for your use of life-saving Massive Transfusion.