Medical Category: Neurology

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as rivaroxaban [Xarelto] and apixaban [Eliquis] have become more prevalent in the aging population and are associated with intracranial bleeding at rates up to 4.2%. (Xian 2019) 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrates (4F-PCC), or K-Centra, …

Background Information: Multiple illness severity scores have been developed for use after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). Unfortunately, these rely on information that is not immediately available to providers in the early hours following return of …

Take Home Points Post dural-puncture headache affects up to 30% of patients after lumbar puncture. Suspect PDPH in all patients who recently underwent an LP or epidural anesthesia regardless of whether they meet the IHS criteria. The best way to …

Background: At my shop we have changed wholesale to the use of tenecteplase over alteplase for acute ischemic stroke meeting criteria for thrombolytic therapy.  This was based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of 6 RCTs and 2 observational trials …

Take Home Points Emergency medicine revolves around the differential diagnosis History and physical exam should significantly narrow your differential diagnosis Have an idea of what specific diagnoses are being ruled out when ordering diagnostic tests Always consider the most life-threatening and …