In this issue, we collaborated with the CJEM team to create a visual abstract on the article “Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) and inpatient treatment strategies for emergency department patients with cellulitis: a cost analysis”.1 Skin and soft tissue infections in the ED almost always equals antibiotic prescription. Depending on severity and patient characteristics, the question is whether oral or intravenous (IV) administration is required, and patients receiving IV antibiotics for these infections …
Managing Agitation in the ED: Part 2 – Restraints, Medical Approach, and Discharge
This post is part two of a two-part series. You may review the previous post here. In the last post, we followed Lucas, a 26 year old male who presented to the ED with bizarre behaviour and aggression. When we left off, he was becoming increasingly agitated and paranoid despite your best efforts in de-escalating the situation. He is beginning to yell at staff and refuses to cooperate with any questioning. Approach to …
Managing Agitation in the ED: Part 1 – Overview and Deescalation Strategies
Lucas is a 26 year old male who presents to the ED by his parents for bizarre behaviour and increasing aggression at home. He has a history of IV drug use but is not forthcoming about which drugs he has used and how recently he has used them. There are two hospital security employees behind him. He is frequently looking behind and around him, and appears dishevelled and unkempt. Lucas appears quite anxious …
PoCUS Previews 03: Intro to the FAST Scan
Welcome back to PoCUS Previews, your illustrated guide to the world of Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS)! In the hands of a skilled sonographer, PoCUS can serve as a valuable tool while assessing a patient in trauma. PoCUS can quickly and fairly accurately detect blood loss and signal the presence of internal organ damage. Thus, the Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) scan is one of the most celebrated uses of PoCUS …
A Study on Behalf of the CCEDRRN: Trends in COVID-19 ED management and outcomes, wave-by-wave.
In 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presented the largest public health crisis inover a century. Healthcare workers had to learn how to treat and manage patients withCOVID-2019 without overwhelming health systems. They were faced with both evidence-based and non-evidence-based treatment recommendations. Simultaneously, public healthinterventions aimed to reduce transmission in the population and protect those mostvulnerable. In this evolving context, we wanted to know whether clinicians were able toadapt their clinical practice. We also …
PoCUS Previews 02: Intro to Image Generation
Welcome back to PoCUS Previews, your illustrated guide to the world of Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS)! This month’s infographic will focus on image and probe orientation, different probe movements that can be used to generate these images, and some common artifacts (or abnormal alterations in ultrasound images). Ultrasound images can be challenging to interpret when we consider their dynamic nature and varying conventions that surround them. This infographic breaks down the orientation …