The trauma bay is swamped, rooms are a scarce commodity and inpatient beds are in even more dubious supply. You set your coffee down and prepare to go see your newest patient, a 65-year-old male complaining of abdominal pain. Flipping through his chart, you note that he is tachycardic at 113 bpm and febrile with a temperature of 38.1 °C. En route to the patient’s bed, your nursing colleague stops to tell you …
Tiny Tip: Ranson’s Criteria in Pancreatitis
Editor’s Note: Last week we ran a tiny tip for the BISAP score which is an emergency department friendly way to evaluate the severity of disease. The more traditional RANSON criteria hasn’t gone completely out of style though. It may be particularly helpful when coordinating admission and prognosticating in those who will become inpatients. Ranson’s Criteria [1] is a well-validated clinical tool designed for the risk stratification of acute pancreatitis. Based on parameters collected …
Tiny Tip: BISAP for Pancreatitis
EDITOR’S NOTE: I often struggle with determining whether the presentation is pancreatitis or whether it’s PANCREATITIS. There are a number of scoring systems to help evaluate this question but one in particular is nicely suited to the Emergency Department. I like Doran’s Tiny Tip that can help you remember some of the key features to consider. – EP The severity and sequelae of acute pancreatitis range wildly, from mild epigastric pain with a benign natural history …