Months of ICU rotations are required for United States (US) Emergency Medicine (EM) residents. As EM residents, we can feel out of place or less efficient than we are used to in this environment since we work primarily in a very different model and with a very different electronic medical record (EMR) setup…
Read MoreThe patient in this case is a 64-year-old male with a history of hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatic heart disease, and a previous C3-C6 laminectomy and fusion who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with a chief complaint of new-onset, bilateral upper extremity weakness and paresthesia following an unwitnessed fall…
Read MoreTrauma affects an estimated 8% of all pregnancies and is the leading cause of non-obstetric maternal morbidity and mortality. Pregnancy can complicate the evaluation of a trauma patient, and we must be aware of the normal anatomic and physiologic changes that occur during pregnancy, as well as the adjustments that must be made to our trauma algorithm. This post will review the keys to managing a pregnant trauma patient, as well as injuries and interventions specific to pregnancy…
Read MoreA seven-day old male presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with twelve hours of increased work of breathing. His mother reported a healthy pregnancy and spontaneous vaginal delivery. She noted they had been home for 5 days from the newborn nursery. However, overnight she found the patient had increased work of breathing and difficulty with feeds. She noted he was no longer able to finish a full feed…
Read MoreA 15-year-old female with a history of depression and ADHD who presents to the ED after an intentional overdose. Family notes that the patient is prescribed Prozac and Adderall, but they also found Benadryl and Ibuprofen in her room. On arrival, the patient was hypertensive to 140/82 and tachycardic…
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