ED Lifehacks For Your Suture Kit

*This blog post was selected as a 2016 “Top 5- Finalist” by the ALiEM Essentials fellowship committee!

The suture kit truly is the “Swiss Army Knife” of the Emergency Department. Within that box is a treasure trove of sterile tools that can be used for just about every type of suturing, clamping, and draping performed in the ED. My colleagues at Kings County Hospital and I have done some thinking “outside the box” and have compiled our top ED lifehacks to make things a little easier on your next shift.

Click on the different parts of the suture kit below to explore!

Consider donating unused suture kit materials to organizations that distribute these items to third world countries desperately in need of medical supplies.

REFERENCES

1. Cullinane DC, Schiller HJ, Zielinski MD, et al. “Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Practice Management Guidelines for Hemorrhage in Pelvic Fracture—Update and Systematic Review.” The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care 71.6 (2011): 1850-868. Web.

2. Davies, PH. “Foreign Bodies in the Nose and Ear: A Review of Techniques for Removal in the Emergency Department.” Emergency Medicine Journal 17.2 (2000): 91-94. Web.

3. Grayson M, Gibbons GW, Balogh K, et al. Probing to Bone in Infected Pedal Ulcers: A Clinical Sign of Underlying Osteomyelitis in Diabetic Patients. JAMA.1995;273(9):721-723.

4. Butalia S, Palda VA, Sargeant RJ, et al. “Does This Patient With Diabetes Have Osteomyelitis of the Lower Extremity?” JAMA. 299.7 (2008): 806. Web. 

5. Michelle EA, Kuhn GJ. “Emergencies after 20 Weeks of Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.” Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed. New York: Mcgraw-Hill Companies, 2004. 695-710. Print.

5. Suresh VK, Asish K, Devi PS. “Improvised Glove Barrier for Ultrasound Probe Protection.” Anesthesia, Essays and Researches 9.3 (2015): 448–449. PMC. Web..

6. Butalia S, Palda VA, Sargeant RJ, et al. “Does This Patient With Diabetes Have Osteomyelitis of the Lower Extremity?” JAMA 299.7 (2008): 806. Web.

7. Zahed R, Moharamzadeh P, Alizadeharasi S, et al. “A New and Rapid Method for Epistaxis Treatment Using Injectable Form of Tranexamic Acid Topically: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 31.9 (2013): 1389-392. Web.

Special Thanks to Drs. Abram, deSouza, Granados,  Isaksen, LoCasio, Nguyen, Shibata, Silverberg, Tu, Yohannes, and Zeccola!

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wendyrollerblades

Senior EM Resident at SUNY Downstate / Kings County Hospital, EM/Critical Care Blogger, Medical Student Education Curriculum Co-Chair, has a blackbelt in "keepin' it real"

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