Approaching the complaint Occipital neuralgia is a headache disorder characterized by shooting neuropathic pain secondary to greater or lesser occipital nerve pathology. The diagnosis should be considered in a patient presenting with the following: Unilateral or bilateral pain originating at the skull base Sharp, shooting, lancinating, or burning pain that radiates forward along the dermatomes supplied by the greater or lesser occipital nerves Paroxysmal pain lasting seconds to minutes Dysesthesia or allodynia over …
CanadiEM MVP Infographic Series – Comparison of PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE Rules
Editor’s Note – This post is one in a series of articles detailing “must know” papers in emergency medicine. Each post will summarize the findings of one study identified by the research of Bazak et al.1 Introducing the CanadiEM MVP Series Evidence-based practice is critical for delivering quality emergency care, but with such a broad specialty identifying and recalling high-yield studies can be challenging. This is especially true for new EM learners, who …
First Year Diaries E01 – Transition to EM Practice
Today’s episode is to aid new Emergency Medicine staff physicians to traverse through the first few months of their independent practice safely and effectively. As a new physician myself, I had the luxury of having many mentors and colleagues who were gracious enough to help me find my way in providing safe patient care. Additionally, they assisted me on integral aspects that we don’t necessary learn or get exposed to as a resident, …
Describing a Rash
When describing a rash there are many characteristics to make note of, including its primary morphology, secondary morphology, demarcation, colour, configuration, and distribution. The focus or this article will be on primary morphology. Reasoning through the first blush Within primary morphology you can stratify a lesion based on whether it is flat or elevated. If the lesion is flat, then it will be either a macule or patch. A macule is a flat lesion …
CanadiEM MVP Infographic Series – Thrombolysis with Alteplase 3 to 4.5 Hours After Acute Ischemic Stroke
View PostHiQuiPs: Patient Safety in the ED Part 3 – The Role of Safety Culture in a Patient Safety Program
You are attending a departmental event when you walk over to a group of your colleagues, and the conversation goes silent. You wonder if you had that effect on the conversation, but the awkward silence is reluctantly broken by the person who was speaking when they quietly continue their story. This veteran physician discusses a recent incident where they placed a wrong-sized lumen chest tube in a patient, only to have to replace …