recent articles

ultrasound

US Probe: Ultrasound for Shoulder Dislocation and Reduction

After taking all the time and resources for conscious sedation, you find yourself unsure whether the shoulder dislocation has been reduced. You have two options: 1) Wait for sedation to wear off. Send patient around corner to x-ray. a) If reduced, great. b) If not reduced, then your team must repeat the whole process. 2) ULTRASOUND!

ultrasound

US Probe: Ultrasound for Small Bowel Obstruction

The Mount Sinai interns' latest US pearl shows us that: The proper use of POCUS for small bowel obstruction can expedite care, replace plain film radiography, reduce cost, reduce duration of stay, lead to expedited surgical consultations, and reduce unnecessary radiation. Better yet, studies have shown that emergency medicine physicians can accurately diagnose SBO with high sensitivity and specificity after a short amount of training.

practice updates

Commonly Missed Findings on CT Abdomen/Pelvis

CT: the donut of truth. Most physicians breathe a little easier sending a patient home with a negative CT abdomen/pelvis. However, the power of x-ray vision doesn’t allow us to turn off our brains. Certain pathologies may have only subtle findings on CT, and others may lend themselves better to other imaging modalities, such as ultrasound. By being aware of these pathologies and how to identify them, we can better recognize patients at risk of a missed diagnosis.