3 Aug 2020

August 3, 2020

Written by REBEL Crit

 Background Information:

The care and management of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is complex and follows an inciting injury to the lungs. This constellation of symptoms is characterized by hypoxemia, diffuse lung inflammation, decreased lung compliance and noncardiogenic pulmonary edema typically seen as bilateral opacities on radiographical imaging.1  Slow progress has been made in developing effective ARDS treatments, among them are low tidal volumes which have been shown to improve mortality.2 Over time the development of guidelines such as the ARDSnet protocol have also helped provide a stepwise framework to treatment. However, there are a subset of patients who continue to remain hypoxic and refractory hypoxemia accounts for 10-15% of deaths in ARDS patients.3   The therapies typically implemented to correct refractory hypoxia include proning, inhaled pulmonary vasodilators, extracorporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO), paralysis, recruitment maneuvers, unconventional ventilator modes and more.4–8 The following post and included infographics focus on the following salvage therapies: Proning, Paralytics and (lung) Protection. It is important to note that regardless of the therapy, specializing care on an individual basis with a risk-benefit analysis is required to give patients the best possible chance at survival.
Medical Categories: Thoracic and Respiratory
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13 Jul 2020

July 13, 2020

Written by REBEL EM

Background Information:

Headache is a common chief complaint that emergency physicians encounter almost every day and sometimes multiple times in each shift. In fact, headache is the fifth leading cause of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED).1 Current first-line treatment consists of a dopamine antagonist such as prochlorperazine or metoclopramide which are given in addition to diphenhydramine to mitigate any potential adverse effects. A recent study has shown that IV haloperidol, another dopamine antagonist, was equivalent to IV metoclopramide in the successful treatment of headaches in the ED.2 Additionally, haloperidol has been shown to be an effective rescue medication in the treatment of refractory migraine-pain.3 Unfortunately, the cardiovascular effects and reported QTc prolongation associated with haloperidol has limited its use in the ED. The authors of the following study sought to determine the effectiveness of low-dose IV haloperidol in the ED treatment of acute benign headache among patients aged 13 to 55 years old
Medical Categories: Neurology
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28 May 2020

May 28, 2020

Written by REBEL Crit, REBEL EM

Background Information:

Physicians have and continue to heavily contribute to the current opioid epidemic in the United States and Canada.1 Although much of the focus has been opioid prescriptions given to patients in the emergency department,2,3 not much attention has been paid to critically ill patients who survive to hospital discharge. The long-term sequelae of these opioids is concerningly overlooked especially when physicians utilize these medications as part of an “analgesia first” approach to sedating critically ill patients for the purposes of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).4 Previous observational studies in Canada found that approximately 85% of critically ill patients receiving IMV were exposed to opioids.1 Furthermore, the average daily opioid dosing for 2-7 days was 63 milligrams of morphine equivalent (MME), increasing to 106 MME per day for patients receiving IMV for greater than 7 days. The authors of this study performed a retrospective chart review of population-based data from Ontario Canada to investigate the frequency of new opioid initiation and persistent opioid use among critically ill patients who received mechanical ventilation. They compared this to patients who were hospitalized but not critically ill.
Medical Categories: Pyschobehavioral, Toxicology
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20 Apr 2020

April 20, 2020

Written by REBEL EM
Background Information: The presentation of a patient with syncope to the Emergency Department (ED) can pose a challenge to clinicians as the identification of a serious underlying condition is the priority. Often the original cause of the syncope is difficult to determine in the ED and ultimately results in unnecessary hospitalization. Of all syncope patients evaluated in the ED, 3-5% of them will be found to have a serious condition after ED disposition.1 Furthermore, the literature has shown that hospital admissions due to syncope were associated with low mortality or the need for procedures.2 Emergency physicians are then also posed with the task of determining which patients may be considered low, medium and high risk for a serious outcome. Several risk stratification tools have been developed to help with the identification of these patients, however many of these tools are not validated and very complex, therefore they are not used clinically. The Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) is among these decision tools, however it has yet to be validated. The authors of this paper sought to conduct a multicenter ED based prospective study to validate this tool and advocate its superior use over some of the other risk stratification tools that currently exist.
Medical Categories: Cardiovascular
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16 Apr 2020

April 16, 2020

Written by REBEL EM
Background Information: Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy most commonly occurs during the first trimester. If left untreated, the development of hyperemesis gravidarum can lead to further complications characterized by dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities.1 Ondansetron, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist has quickly become the most frequently prescribed drug in the United States for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.2 With the creation of an oral dissolving tablet in 2006, Ondansetron’s popularity as an antiemetic continues to rise. In fact, a study from 2014 shows that nearly a quarter of all pregnant women in the United States are using it.3 There is uncertainty in the literature as to the association between Ondansetron and birth defects. While some studies report there is no increased risk in congenital abnormalities among women who took this antiemetic early in pregnancy, other evidence suggests it may be associated with cleft palate and cardiac malformations.2 The authors of this study sought to investigate the association between exposure to Ondansetron during the first trimester of pregnancy and risk of congenital malformations in newborns using a national cohort of publicly insured pregnant women.
Medical Categories: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Toxicology
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