FOAMED

Check out our latest in our D-List Superbugs series of rare cases caused by rare bugs. EM docs need to have these in their differential as it can cause national morbidity/mortality!

Questioning the current practice management of diverticulitis? Read about the most recent review of a large meta-analysis regarding this hot topic

Pearls and Pitfalls

Cellulitis that is associated with purulent drainage is commonly associated with Staphylococcus Aureus compared to non-purulent cellulitis that is more commonly β hemolytic streptococcus. Antimicrobial therapy should be directed at the organism in question.
Cellulitis may not appear as red and can span the gamut from pale to violet coloration in deeper infections. Pain is not always present particularly in immunocompromised patients.
Cultures from peripheral blood, needle aspirates, skin biopsies, and surgical specimens have a relatively low yield. They should be considered however in patients with purulent drainage, those who failed outpatient therapy, or immunocompromised patients.

It’s a crazy night in the ED, and you are about four hours into your shift. You have just received a new patient with chief complaint of altered mental status coming in via EMS.

To kick off your weekend reading pleasure, here’s another batch of our monthly excellent write-ups from the EM interns at UT Southwestern (@DallasEMed) courtesy of Alex Koyfman (@EMHighAK) . Our ongoing intern report series is the product of first-year residents exploring clinical questions they have found to be particularly intriguing, with an intended audience of med students & junior residents. Enjoy!

As the obesity epidemic continues to rise, we must be equipped to deal with the challenges that these patients bring to the emergency department. Dr. Mallemat discusses the pearls & pitfalls of the obese patient in EM, as well as some useful tips & tricks.

In the febrile HIV patient, there are many diagnostic dilemmas and potential life-threatening disease processes which make the diagnosis and treatment difficult. When approaching these patients, it is useful to separate complications into organ systems and then try to estimate the patient’s immune status if it is not known.

Clinical pearls and pitfalls when it comes to Acute Limb Ischemia (ALI), which is one true vascular emergency that carries a significant morbidity and mortality risk.

A review of how to resuscitate a pregnant patient in the midst of medical catastrophe and how to rapidly estimate gestational age