A 63-year-old female presents with abdominal pain, decreased bowel movements, nausea, three episodes of vomiting, and abdominal distension. She has a history multiple abdominal surgeries. Exam shows abdominal distension and generalized tenderness, but no peritoneal signs. What are your next steps?
EM@3AM: Small Bowel Obstruction Read More »
A 58-year-old male presents with severe shortness of breath, productive cough, and decreased ability to ambulate at home. He has COPD and is on oxygen at home. Several days ago he noted worsening congestion, myalgias, and cough. He is now severely short of breath and unable to complete his activities of daily living.
He is hypoxemic and tachypneic. You hear decreased air movement bilaterally and distal wheezes. What’s the next step in your evaluation and treatment?
EM@3AM: Acute COPD Exacerbation Read More »
With all the new stroke literature, how can you keep track of everything? Fortunately, the AHA/ASA recently published the 2018 ischemic strokes guidelines. This post provides emergency medicine-focused highlights of the updated guidelines.
2018 AHA/ASA Ischemic Stroke Updates Read More »
A 18-year-old male presents with chest pain and shortness of breath for several days. Approximately one week prior he was suffering from myalgia, congestion, sore throat, and fever and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. Today his vitals are HR 132, RR 28, BP 92/48, T 37.8 C, and Sats 95% on RA. What should you consider, and what are your next steps?
EM@3AM: Myocarditis Read More »
A 62-year-old female patient presents with dysuria and frequency. You quickly order a urine dipstick. What do you need to consider when interpreting the urine dipstick/urinalysis?
EM@3AM: Urinalysis/Urine Dipstick Components Read More »
Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) was created to improve evaluation and management of traumatic injuries. Unfortunately, the literature often outpaces guidelines. This 10th edition provides several important updates for clinicians managing trauma.
Are you ready for the ATLS 10th Edition Updates? Read More »
Welcome to this edition of emDocs Cases. This will be a case-based discussion of EM topics, ranging from core to cutting edge and controversial. This post evaluates something all-too-common in emergency medicine: the agitated patient.
emDocs Cases: ED Approach to Agitation Read More »
A 6-year-old male presents with rash, joint pain, and abdominal pain. VS are normal, and exam reveals palpable purpura in the lower extremities. His abdomen is not tender to palpation, and his testicles are normal. Platelets and coagulation panel are normal. What is the diagnosis?
EM@3AM: Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP) Read More »
Cytokine storm, neurotoxicity, autoimmune reactions… These are just several complications of CAR T-cell therapy. But what is this therapy to begin with? This post evaluates this relatively new cancer therapy and its potential complications.
CAR T-Cell Therapy – What do you need to know for the ED? Read More »
Welcome back to The EM Educator Series! These posts provide brief mini-cases followed by key questions to consider while working and educating. Today we look at several components of sepsis evaluation and management in the ED, followed by key references.
The EM Educator Series: Sepsis in the ED Read More »
