REBEL Cast

is the blogs audio version. The podcast typically starts by setting a clinical stage with a pertinent clinical question, followed by a discussion of the paper with pertinent results, strengths, limitations, and further discussion. Finally, we end every podcast with clinical take home points from the papers being reviewed. If there are papers you think we should evaluate, email them to srrezaie@gmail.com.

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31 Oct 2019

October 31, 2019

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL Core
Take Home Points  
  • Stress cardiomyopathy looks like ACS/STEMI, with patient presenting with chest pain, dyspnea or maybe syncope. It looks like ACS and should be treated as such until you prove to yourself it’s not.
  • Classic patient is an older woman with chest pain or syncope after a stressful event.
  • Bedside echo will show left ventricular dysfunction with one of a variety of patterns of wall motion abnormality. The most common is apical, but there are also variant patterns including mid-ventricular, basal, focal and global.
  • Watch for QTc prolongation as this could precipitate an arrhythmia. Be sure to stop all QT prolonging meds and replete magnesium
  • Consider the differential in the patient who has cardiogenic shock because the treatment differs. Avoid catecholamines and if you need inotropic support use dobutamine or dopamine. Look for evidence of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, as this should be treated like a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with beta blockers rather than inotropes.
Medical Categories: Cardiovascular
3 Likes
30 Oct 2019

October 30, 2019

Written by REBEL Cast
Background: Currently, alteplase is the mainstay of treatment of acute ischemic stroke.  Advocates of alteplase suggest that the benefit of alteplase is greatest when given early and declines with increasing time from stroke symptom onset (i.e. time is brain).  Therefore, the AHA/ASA guidelines recommend intravenous alteplase within 4.5 hours after stroke onset, which is based on very weak evidence (i.e. NINDS & ECASS III). Due to weak evidence in support of it’s use and significant patient risks associated with alteplase, it’s use in acute ischemic stroke remains controversial.  One of the big issues is that by decreasing the time for evaluation and treatment, there is an increased risk of administrating alteplase to patients presenting with noncerebrovascular conditions that can resemble an acute ischemic stroke (i.e. stroke mimics).  This puts patients with no chance of improvement with alteplase at risk for increased mortality and symptomatic ICH.  There is some limited data on the safety of alteplase in stroke mimics and this study adds to that knowledge.
Medical Categories: Neurology
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9 Oct 2019

October 9, 2019

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL Core
Take Home Points 
  • Acute closed angle glaucoma is an ophthalmologic emergency that usually presents with sudden, painful, monocular vision loss.
  • Physical exam will reveal conjunctival redness, corneal haziness or cloudiness due to edema and a pupil that is mid sized and minimally reactive to light, a rock hard globe and IOP >/= 21.
  • These patients require emergent ophthalmology evaluation but treatment should be started empirically while waiting for the evaluation. Initial treatment to decrease IOP usually includes a topical BB such as timolol and topical AB such as apraclonidine and either IV or PO acetazolamide.  
 
Medical Categories: Head, Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat
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25 Sep 2019

September 25, 2019

Written by REBEL Cast, REBEL Core

Take Home Points
  • When looking at pH and bicarb, the differences between VBG and ABG are miniscule. For DKA patients, stick with the VBG as is less painful and has fewer complications. 
  • LR is probably a better fluid for the large volume resuscitation required in DKA. Start with a 20 cc/kg bolus and then reassess the patient’s perfusion status.
  • Stay on top of your electrolyte repletion. If the patient has a working gut, you can aggressively replete potassium orally and don’t forget that when you are repleting potassium you also must replete magnesium.
  • Bolus dose insulin gets the patient to super-physiologic levels and has been associated with higher potassium requirements and more episodes of hypoglycemia. It’s probably fine to skip the bolus and stick with a drip alone
  • Don’t forget to think of all possible etiologies of DKA, while we most often find this in patients who have not been taking their home meds for whatever reason, don’t forget a good history to look for sources such as infection and ischemia. 
Medical Categories: Endocrine, Metabolic, Fluid, and Electrolytes
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