Archive

Medical Category: Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

Is the Great Debate Between Balanced vs Unbalanced Crystalloids Finally Over?

Background:  Normal Saline (NS) is one of the most commonly used IVFs in resuscitation today.  The use of balanced vs unbalanced crystalloids has been one of the biggest debates in resuscitation of the critically ill in recent history due to ...

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Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

Diabetic Gastroparesis Needs HUGS

Background: Anyone practicing in emergency medicine has taken care of a patient with diabetic gastroparesis.  Although, it is not a sexy topic to discuss, nor a disease process associated with significant mortality, it is associated with decreased quality of life, ...

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Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

Mythbuster: Glucose Levels Must be Below a “Safe” Threshold Before Discharge

Background: Anyone who works in the Emergency Department has seen patients brought in by EMS or sent from the clinic with a chief complaint of “high blood sugar.”  Now, we are not talking about patients with diabetic ketoacidosis, but just ...

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Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

Euglycemic DKA: It’s not a Myth

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is traditionally defined as a triad of hyperglycemia (>250mg/dL), anion gap acidosis, and increased plasma ketones. There is another entity that providers must be aware of known as euglycemic DKA (euDKA), which is essentially DKA without ...

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Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) Myths

Recently, I was asked to give a lecture to both my residents and nurses at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) on some common DKA myths. Now this topic was originally covered by my good friend Anand Swaminathan ...

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Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes

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