1 Mar 2020

March 1, 2020

Written by REBEL Covid-19, REBEL EM
The Novel Coronavirus 2019, was first reported on in Wuhan, China in late December 2019.  The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 and on March 11th, 2020, the outbreak was declared a global pandemic.  The spread of this virus is now global with lots of media attention.  The virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes has become known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  This new outbreak has been producing lots of hysteria and false truths being spread, however the data surrounding the biology, epidemiology, and clinical characteristics are growing daily, making this a moving target.  This post will serve as a summary of prevention of COVID-19.
Medical Categories: Infectious Disease
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1 Mar 2020

March 1, 2020

Written by REBEL Covid-19, REBEL EM
The Novel Coronavirus 2019, was first reported on in Wuhan, China in late December 2019.  The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 and on March 11th, 2020, the outbreak was declared a global pandemic.  The spread of this virus is now global with lots of media attention.  The virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes has become known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  This new outbreak has been producing lots of hysteria and false truths being spread, however the data surrounding the biology, epidemiology, and clinical characteristics are growing daily, making this a moving target.  This post will serve as a summary of airway management in regards to COVID-19. 
Medical Categories: Infectious Disease
1 Like
12 Feb 2020

February 12, 2020

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL Core
Take-Home Points
  1. Endocarditis can have vague and varied presentations and has high morbidity and mortality. Be on the lookout in patients with risk factors including: 
    1. Congenital heart disease
    2. Cardiac prosthesis or devices
    3. Immunocompromise
    4. IV drug use
    5. Recent invasive procedure
    6. Hx of prior IE
  2. Patients may present with fever, sepsis of unclear source or may have manifestations of emboli to the skin, eyes, brain, lungs, spleen or kidney.
  3. Diagnosis is based on the modified Duke Criteria and workup should include THREE good sets of blood cultures. 
  4. ED management includes consultation with ID and cardiothoracic surgery and starting antibiotics based on whether the patient has a native or prosthetic valve. Basic starting antibiotic regimen includes:
    1. For patients with native valve disease a good starting regimen is:
      1. Vancomycin 25-30 mg/kg IV loading dose followed by 15-20 mg/kg twice daily AND
      2. Cefepime 2 g IV TID
    2. For patients with prosthetic valve disease, we have to go a bit bigger:
      1. Vancomycin 25-30 mg/kg IV loading dose followed by 15-20 mg/kg IV twice daily AND
      2. Rifampin 300 mg PO/IV TID AND
      3. Gentamicin 1 mg/kg IV TID AND
      4. Some recommendations include the Cefepime 2 g IV TID
Medical Categories: Cardiovascular, Infectious Disease
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27 Jan 2020

January 27, 2020

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL CME, REBEL Crit

Background: The combination of vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine in sepsis has been a topic of hot debate in the past couple years.  There is a hypothetical pathophysiological basis to make an argument for the use of this combination of medications, but as with anything it is important to ensure there are no untoward effects either. In Dr. Marik’s before and after study [1] we saw some pretty amazing results showing that treatment reduced hospital mortality  by 31.9% (Treatment Group 8.5% vs Control Group 40.4%). Too good to be true?  Well in short, YES…the major issues with this study were it was not a randomized controlled trial, had a small sample size, was a single center study, and had significant selection bias.  Well we finally have our first randomized controlled trial evaluating the “metabolic cocktail” in a general population of septic shock adult patients.

Medical Categories: Infectious Disease, Resuscitation
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15 Jan 2020

January 15, 2020

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL Core
Take Home Points 
  • Osteomyelitis is an infection in any part of a bone. It has a varied presentation including acute and chronic forms. Patients can present septic, or rather well appearing.
  • Patients may present with fever, chills, musculoskeletal pain, erythema, swelling or drainage from an ulcer.
  • Lab evaluation includes WBC, ESR and CRP, which we expect to be elevated in acute osteo, but less so in chronic.
  • MRI is the best imaging modality, but XR and CT may have some findings that suggest osteo.
  • Unstable patients should be started on broad spectrum antibiotics, usually vancomycin and cefepime, right away. Stable patients can be started on antibiotics in conjunction with your orthopedic consults.
Medical Categories: Infectious Disease
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