Communication is a pillar of medicine. While we remember (or don’t) the hundreds of hours in the library with our noses stuck in immunology and anatomy books, arguably the most important skill we learn in medical school is how to interact with patients. A physician may have a photographic memory Read more…
Case: A 40-year-old woman with a history of CAD and prior RCA stent presents to the emergency department with chest pain for one day. Her triage vitals are BP 100/60, HR 60, T 98.7, RR 20, O2 99%. You examine that patient, noticing her holding her chest in pain with Read more…
Pain is common in the emergency department (ED), representing up to 78% of presenting complaints.[1] Emergency physicians (EP) must therefore be experts in the management of pain. Right? Let’s examine how well we do. Reality Check A 2007 study examining pain practices in 17 EDs in the US and Canada Read more…
“Sepsis Code to Resus 1.” Your charge nurse comes out of her office, “Doc, you know that’s the cardiac arrest patient right? They’re not febrile. Why are we ordering antibiotics?” Despite all the hoopla and controversy surrounding mandated CMS guidelines surrounding the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, there’s limited evidence that antibiotics Read more…
Author: Robby Allen, MD Answer to last week’s case: reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS). Congrats to Drs. Solger and Cerbini for getting the correct diagnosis. Who gets RCVS? RCVS occurs more commonly in women, often in the middle-aged years. The exact incidence is unknown but it may not Read more…
Case A 35-year-old female presents to the emergency department with a chief complaint of headache. She has a past medical history significant for depression, migraines, and seasonal allergies. One week ago, she delivered a healthy newborn by vaginal delivery without any complications and went home the next day. In the Read more…
Author: Robby Allen Edited by: Taylor Douglas and Eden Kim Case A 56-year-old male with PMH of hypertension, CHF, HIV, and obesity presents to the ED with a chief complaint of chest pain. He states the chest pain awoke him from sleep, radiates to the back and jaw, and began Read more…
Cases written by Drs. Desai and Riggins Edited by Noah Berland and Robby Allen Case 1: A 35-year-old male with a history of bipolar disorder presents with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea 3 days after being started on lithium for the first time. He was started on sustained-release 300 mg qd, Read more…
Author: Robby Allen, MD Edited by: Eden Kim MD, Roshanak Benabbas MD Acknowledgments: Michael Lucchesi MD, Aleksandr Gleyzer MD Our “EM controversies” lecture series continued with a faculty showdown: Dr. Lucchesi versus Dr. Gleyzer. Watch the debate here. Their Challenge? Antibiotics for nasal packing. What does the evidence say? Read more…
This month’s Save of The Month goes to a repeat awardee and one of our editors, Dr. Noah Berland. We are recognizing Noah for correctly identifying the sickest patient in the room, advocating for that patient, and expediting her care. Case A middle-aged woman with a history of diabetes presented Read more…