Top emDOCs Posts of 2017

Authors: Brit Long, MD (@long_brit – EM Attending Physician, San Antonio, TX), Manpreet Singh, MD (@MPrizzleER – Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine / Department of Emergency Medicine – Harbor-UCLA Medical Center), and Alex Koyfman, MD (@EMHighAK – EM Attending Physician, UT Southwestern Medical Center / Parkland Memorial Hospital) 

The emDOCs team is incredibly grateful for our readers and our amazing contributing authors. You and your amazing support always keep us going. This past year we saw the development of several new series including Tox Cards, emDocs Cases, Elemental EM, ECG Pointers, and US Probe. Stay tuned for an exciting 2018, and thanks again for your support! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Now, without further ado, here is our list of our top posts from 2017 based on viewership from you the readers:

 

  • Cellulitis Mimics – ED Considerations – Emergency physicians are well versed in the management of cellulitis. However, the diagnosis isn’t always straightforward, as close to 30% of patients may be misdiagnosed. What are other conditions that mimic cellulitis?

 

  • High Risk Post Intubation Patients – Once the patient is intubated, your work isn’t finished. In fact, it may be just beginning…this post evaluates patients at high risk for decompensation post intubation.

 

  • Neurotrauma Resuscitation: Pearls & Pitfalls – The critically ill patient with neurologic trauma can present significant challenges for ED resuscitation. This post discusses key pearls and pitfalls in the evaluation and management of these patients.

 

 

  • Must Know Antimicrobial Regimens – Adults – There are certain diseases we see every day in the ED, including pneumonia, UTI, and cellulitis. A variety of antimicrobials exists, but what are the regimens that you must know for treating common infections in the ED? This post evaluates your “must know” regimens for treatment.

 

 

  • Treatment of Refractory SVT: Pearls and Pitfalls – Supraventricular tachycardia is often viewed as a simple arrhythmia to fix: start with vagal maneuvers, then go with adenosine. But what if these don’t work. What are your other options?

 

  • Safe & Unsafe Medications in Pregnancy – What medications are safe in pregnancy, and which should be avoided? This post evaluates medication use in pregnancy, providing pearls and pitfalls for everyday practice.

 

  • Is vancomycin/zosyn the answer for everything? – The combination of vancomycin and zosyn is commonly utilized in the ED for a variety of infections. However, recent literature suggests this combo may not always be needed. When should you use vanc/zosyn, and when is it not needed? This post will provide a background on the medications and evaluate indications for treatment and potential problems with their use.

 

  • 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.

 

  • Elemental EM: Eating Disorder – It is challenging to incorporate core topics into a shift, especially uncommon core topics. Elemental EM aims to provide 5-minute rapid review of core topics that could be translated into interactive sessions with learners. Here is how to turn a simple syncope case into a brief learning session on eating disorders.

 

  • ECG Pointers: Hyperacute T-Waves – Welcome to this week’s ECG Pointers, an EMDocs series designed to give you high yield tips about ECGs to keep your interpretation skills sharp. This post looks at hyperacute T waves.

 

We are actively recruiting both new topics and authors.  This project is rolling and you can submit an idea or write-up at any time! Contact us at editors@emdocs.net

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