Visually diagnosed medical tests (e.g. radiographs, electrocardiograms) are the most commonly ordered tests in front-line medicine. As such, front-line health care professionals are faced with the task of learning the skill of interpreting these images to an expert performance level by the time they provide opinions that guide patient management decisions. However, discordant interpretations of these images between front-line physicians and expert counterparts (radiologists, cardiologists) are a common cause of medical error1–9. In …
2019 AHA Guidelines Update: Pediatric ALS
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A 68-year-old woman presents with palpitations, feeling generally unwell for three days. She denies any chest pain, shortness of breath, or lightheadedness. Past medical history includes hypertension, dyslipidemia, and osteoarthritis with no history of dysrhythmia. Her heart rate is 125 and her remaining vital signs are normal. Her pulse is irregular and her physical exam is otherwise unremarkable. ECG shows atrial fibrillation. You slow her heart rate using diltiazem. Your workup reveals no …
Sonography in Hypotension and Cardiac Arrest: The SHoC Consensus Statement
Cardiac arrest and hypotension are synonymous with emergency medicine. Over the years, point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) has become an extension of our stethoscope. The recently published consensus statement from the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) aims to provide guidance for PoCUS use in these situations, and describes the Sonography in Hypotension and Cardiac Arrest (SHoC Consensus) protocols.1 The guidelines were developed based upon expert consensus formulated using three rounds of a …