General Counsel attorney, Debi Smith, joins Dr. Nick Tsipis to discuss the ins and outs of healthcare law. Many people forget that a subpoena only compels attendance to a court date, it does not compel one to provide any information on a case without a specific HIPAA compliant authorization for use and disclosure of protected…
Read MoreContributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Early antibiotics have been shown to improve outcomes in septic patients time after time Emerging evidence challenges the concept of one-size-fits-all large fluid boluses for septic shock patients and fluid may worsen patients who have underlying sepsis-induced pulmonary capillary leak Starting peripheral vasopressors early, and relaxing if fluid resuscitation…
Read MoreContributor: Sam Killian, MD Educational Pearls: One study found that patients presented with headaches more frequently when there was high temperatures and low humidity, while higher humidity is correlated to lower incidence of headache. Moon phases had no effect on headache frequency. A Canadian study looking at over 100,000 ED visits for headaches found…
Read MoreEmergency Medical Minute collaborated with CarePoint Health in early March for a night of education on Pediatric Emergencies at a local Denver brewery for our latest Brewcast. Pediatric patients require special considerations compared to adults when receiving medical care, and that remains true for traumatic injuries dealt with in the ED and pre-hospital settings. Dr….
Read MoreContributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Traditional teaching has shied away from using vasopressors through peripheral IVs Tissue necrosis from extravasation is cited as a risk of use of vasopressors through a peripheral site However, risk of extravasation is low (2-4%) and even more rarely results in significant complications Using an IV that is more…
Read MoreContributor: Don Stader, MD Educational Pearls: On average, smoking reduces life expectancy by 13.2 years for men and for 14.5 years for women Nicotine is highly addictive and has both stimulant and calming effects Having a newborn can be a strong motivator to quit so take advantage and educate new (or expecting) parents to the…
Read MoreDr. Glenda Quan, esteemed Trauma Surgeon at Swedish Medical Center, discusses cases related to limb injury and reviews their management. Topics include proper tourniquet application as well as alternatives to commercially available devices how to manage pain or a difficult patient with significant limb injury. We also explore the use of new “hybrid ORs” where…
Read MoreContributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD, JD Educational Pearls: Topical anesthetization can allow for an awake intubation, which substantially decreases chance of loss of airway or respiratory drive because sedatives/paralytics are not necessary Lidocaine treatments like URO-JET (2% lidocaine jelly) can be applied through the nare followed by LMX cream (4% lidocaine) which should be applied to…
Read MoreContributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD, JD Educational Pearls: Tranexamic acid (TXA) as shown to have mortality benefit to patients with traumatic GI hemorrhage but should it be used to achieve hemostasis in atraumatic GI bleeding? HALT-IT study looked at TXA for the treatment of upper and lower GI hemorrhage and found no 5 day mortality benefit…
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Lithium Overdose: The tale of a light metal and its skinny therapeutic index Chief Complaint: Lithium Overdose HPI: Patient is a 39-year-old male with a past medical history of schizoaffective disorder, alcohol abuse, and prior suicide attempt by drug overdose who presents today due to another suicide attempt. Patient states that his girlfriend recently passed…
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