Who got that stank?
Patients that stink can really hinder an ED. It creates a difficult work environment for ED staff and makes nearby patients, families and visitors uncomfortable. Here are a few ways I came across to neutralize the stank
Getting ready to intubate? Let’s pray they don’t DESATurate!
You head over to bed 44 to meet the BLS crew as they start telling you about an 82 year old man who has been having trouble breathing and is “confused” as per his family. His oxygen saturation when you check is 76% and quicker than you can say “sepsis”, the eager resident has popped …
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Just because she cannot pee, does not mean “No UCG”
Let’s face it, we’ve all done it. And, believe me when I tell you all the cool cats are doing it, too. Of course, I am referring to the use of whole blood to determine a woman’s pregnancy status in the Emergency Department using the urine pregnancy test strip. Did you know that the common …
Read more “Just because she cannot pee, does not mean “No UCG””
Fixed dose PCC?
In the past, vitamin K and FFP were the mainstays of reversing warfarin, but now we have fancy new drugs like four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCCs). 4F-PCCs can rapidly reverse the INR of warfarin induced coagulopathy with less volume and quicker than FFP. Many of the dosing regimens base the dose on the patient’s presenting …
Octreotide for sulfonylurea poisoning
Newer second generation sulfonylureas are used extensively for treating type-2 diabetes mellitus (i.e. glyburide, glipizide, glimepiride and gliclazide). They are rapidly absorbed and reach peak plasma concentration typically within 2-4 hours; and have a duration of action up to 24 hours long. In 2010, the American Association of Poison Control centers reported nearly 4,000 cases …
When kids eat coins
Kids eat up your money in more ways than one. Some may eat it up in the form of $50,000 a year in college tuition and some eat it up as a meal. For coins that get stuck in the esophagus the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommends watching asymptomatic patients for a period of …