In the Literature

This week’s JournalFeed Wrap-Up covers a variety of topics including cricoid pressure in pediatric intubation, time to thrombolysis in ischemic stroke, and risk of thoracotomy.

We are proud to introduce a new series, “JournalFeed Weekly Wrap-Up” from Clay Smith at JournalFeed. If you aren’t already following Clay, you need to. It’s time to learn smarter.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is classically a life-threatening diagnosis, often considered in the work-up of patients with chest pain or dyspnea. Initial mortality rates of missed, untreated PE has been quoted as high as 26%, based on a 1960 study. This disease is common, with 400,000 patients affected with nonfatal PE and another 200,000 patients in the U.S. dying each year from this disease. PE is the third most common cause of death in cardiovascular disease after myocardial infarction and stroke.

The patient with penetrating trauma can present with many different injuries. The majority of injuries are easily diagnosed. What about the patient with pneumothorax, diaphragmatic injury, ureteral injury, and hollow viscus injury? These are not so easy to diagnose, and delay in management can cause significant morbidity and mortality. This post provides pearls and pitfalls for these conditions.

Struggling to decide if your patient requires a RBC transfusion? Read on: we’ll review the most recent studies and evidence-based guidelines to aid in your clinical decision-making.

Every provider has their own twist on the standard “headache cocktail”, but what is the evidence behind the individual medications for headache management? What about treating headaches in the pregnant or pediatric patient? This post seeks to answer these questions and more.

Vasopressor use in patients with sepsis has been studied extensively, with many calling for early, peripheral vasopressors. What is the literature behind this, and are patient outcomes affected? This post examines the studies for vasopressors in sepsis and more.