Tamingthesru
QI/KT: Cardiac Arrest
The first of a new series of posts with associated podcasts looking at the literature behind what we do every day in the ED with takeaways of tangible algorithms to guide every day practice. This month Drs Gauger and Harty lead us in a discussion of cardiac arrest, the drugs we use, the ultrasound we dabble with and the future interventions that could become standard of care.
Cotton Fever
When a patient with a history of recent IVDU presents with a complaint of fever, the mind of the provider should immediately focus on the numerous possible infectious complications that can arise. Infectious endocarditis can lead to septic emboli spread to any organ system. Pneumonia can result from aspiration or septic embolization. Cellulitis/abscess can obviously result from local injection. But what about when a source of fever is not readily identifiable? When cultures are negative and the patient’s symptoms have resolved, what could have been the cause of their febrile illness?
Necrotizing Fasciitis and the Spectrum of Soft Tissue Infections
In this post, we discuss necrotizing fasciitis and whether the LRINEC score is a useful decision-aid for the emergency physician when this disease is suspected.