Grand Rounds Recap - 11/5/14

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Grand Rounds Recap - 11/5/14

Background of the simulation: eclamptic seizure leading to cardiac arrest

  • Eclampsia should be high on the DDx of seizure for women of child bearing age without past history of seizures
    • Eclampsia typically follows the 1/3 rule: 1/3 occur after 20 weeks gestation, 1/3 occur antepartum, and 1/3 occur postpartum (up to 4 weeks)
    • Be aggressive about seizure management with benzodiazepines and use magnesium (4-6g MgSO4 IV over 10 minutes, followed by a drip for neuroprotection)
    • Follow magnesium levels clinical using reflexes and respiratory rate
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Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition! (or, for that matter, the Cormak-Lehane Grade 4 Laryngoscopic View!)

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Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition! (or, for that matter, the Cormak-Lehane Grade 4 Laryngoscopic View!)

A 68 year-old man presents by squad with shortness of breath.  He is noted to have a nearly quiet chest with very poor air movement, to be using accessory respiratory muscles, and to be slightly lethargic.  Quick perusal of old records discloses a history of severe COPD, steroid and O2 dependence, HTN and ulcer disease.  The squad reports that his O2 sat was 86% at the scene, improving to 92% on a NRBM and two nebs.

His vitals are:  p 138, r 22 and labored, bp 156/96, O2 sat 92% on a high-flow NRBM.  His POC renal returns with a pCO2 of 88.  His estimated weight is about 175 lbs.

A decision is made to intubate. 

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EMS Scope of Practice

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EMS Scope of Practice

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Dustin Calhoun, EMS faculty member within the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

Dustin had been responsible for an EMS fellow didactic session covering EMS scopes of practice and EMS licensure. While on the surface these topics may seem a bit “boring,” I found our examination of the complexities quite interesting. In fact, I found the session so useful that I asked Dustin to record this podcast with me (and I’m a former EMT!).

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/22/14

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/22/14

Acetaminophen can be one of the most dangerous drugs in overdose, as the toxic dose of acetaminophen is 250 mg/kg

There are 4 stages of acetaminophen overdose:

  • Stage 1 from 0-24 hours when labs may be normal but the patient has nonspecific symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue
  • Stage 2 from 24-72 hours when labs may be normal or be trending upward but the patient is asymptomatic
  • Stage 3 from 72-96 hours when significant metabolic derangement can occur such as profound metabolic acidosis, florid liver failure, and AKI.
  • Stage 4 takes place only if you are able to get them through the acute illness precipitated in Stage 3 when hopefully recovery takes place, though there is no guarantee of liver recovery
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Ebola Preparations: The Greater Cincinnati Area EMS Provider Perspective

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Ebola Preparations: The Greater Cincinnati Area EMS Provider Perspective

As we are all coming to realize, there is a tremendous amount of information to digest when it comes to preparations for potential Ebola cases...

I sat down with Dr. Don Locasto and Dr. Dustin Calhoun to discuss their work with the PHEMAC committee. PHEMAC stands for "Public Health EMS Medical Directors Advisory Council." They exist specifically to deal with situations like this within our region.

PHEMAC recently released an update to all regional EMS providers. The goal of the update was to distill down all of the information out there into a useable form for our local teams. The text is available below.

Our discussion summarizes these initial recommendations, as well as makes suggestions for staying up-to-date as more recommendations are released. You can listen to the podcast here, or by subscribing to us through iTunes.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/15/2014

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/15/2014

Prescription Drug and Opiate Epidemic with Dr. Shawn Ryan

The US is the #1 country in the world for opiate prescription drug utilization

  • The numbers quoted are likely greatly underestimated due to inconsistent documentation
  • Death rate from opiate pain medication (OPM) has quadrupled in the time span of 1999-2010
  • Death rate in 2012 was 5.6 per 100,000
  • In 2011, 44 people per day died from opiate overdose in the US
  • In 2007, unintentional opiate overdose became the leading cause of death in the US for young population
  • OH death rate has grown faster than the national rate. At this time 5 people/day die in OH from opiate overdose
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B Pod Case Reports: 22 Year Old with Difficulty Swallowing

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B Pod Case Reports: 22 Year Old with Difficulty Swallowing

Chief Complaint

Difficulty Swallowing

History of Present Illness

The patient is a 22 year old female with no significant past medical history who presents to the ED with a chief complaint of dysphagia.  The patient first noticed difficulty swallowing solid foods 2 weeks ago. She states that she felt like food was getting caught in her throat.  Initially she only had difficulty swallowing solid foods and was able to eat soft foods and liquids.  However, she reports that over the course of two weeks her condition gradually worsened to the point where she could no longer tolerate fluids. She states that she has pain in the back of her throat when she attempts to swallow.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/8/2014

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/8/2014

Quarterly Sim with Dr. Frank Fernandez

82yoF with multiple medical problems including Grave's Disease who accidentally stopped her Synthroid arrives altered, hypothermic, and bradycardic.

Differential diagnosis for profound hypothermia is fairly short: Environmental vs. Hypometabolism (sepsis is typically a mild hypothermia)

  • The typical myxedema coma precipitants are infection, medication changes, or cold weather
  • Sepsis + bradycardia, should make you think about hypothyroidism
  • Consider evaluating hypothyroid patients for other metabolic issues as they are often co-morbid, especially SIADH
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Suction Assisted Laryngoscopy and Airway Decontamination with Jim DuCanto, MD

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Suction Assisted Laryngoscopy and Airway Decontamination with Jim DuCanto, MD

Recently, one of our FOAMed friends came to visit the University of Cincinnati. Jim Ducanto is well known for his innovations and general wealth of airway management knowledge. One wonderful thing that Jim shared with us during his visit was an airway mannequin that he “modified” to be able to puke…yes…puke. Not sort of puke…but REALLY PUKE!! Here is what Jim has to say regarding the motivation for building the device as well as lessons we learned while doing it’s “beta-test”.

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Ebola

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Ebola

Ebola.  Synonymous with Terror, Class A Bioterrorism Agent Extraordinaire.  The Republic of Guinea and surrounding countries are in the midst of the deadliest, most widespread outbreak ever.  Death totals are rising every day, and each new death is a new record that with any luck will never be eclipsed.  

To quote the man that discovered and named Ebola after a river in the Congolese jungle,

“Soap, gloves, isolating patients, not reusing needles and quarantining the contacts of the ill - in theory it should be very easy to contain Ebola”

        - Peter Piot

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/1/2014

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/1/2014

Consultant of the Month Series: Ear Emergencies with Dr. Golub

Auricular hematoma

Blood separates the cartilage from the perichondrium which supplies the blood-flow to the cartilage. This can lead to cartilaginous ischemia, infection, deformation (cauliflower ear). Treatment: I+D: make cuts parallel to natural lines in the helix to reduce visible scarring. Place a bolster to close the new potential space. Bolster stays for 7-10days. Keep on Keflex while bolster in place and f/u with ENT. 

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Neurologic Emergencies in the Air

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Neurologic Emergencies in the Air

Several months ago, I sat down and talked about the management of neurologic emergencies in the prehospital environment with Dr. Erin McDonough, an Emergency Physician and Neurointensivist who attends both in the ED and the Neurosciences ICU, and is a member of the Cincinnati Stroke Team.  In the brief podcast found below and on iTunes, we covered a wide range of topics including blood pressure management in spontaneous ICH, aneurysmal SAH, and ischemic stroke and some of the more rare complications associated with tPA administration.

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How to Read Hip and Pelvis X-Rays

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How to Read Hip and Pelvis X-Rays

As a continuation of our radiology lecture series, take a look at the excellent instructional modules created by Dr. Anita Goel, PGY-1 resident at the University of Cincinnati Department of Emergency Medicine residency training program.  Dr. Goel takes us through the basic anatomy, the particular features of the many different views that can be obtained in hip and pelvis plain film radiography, and a systematic approach to reading these often complicated radiographs.

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