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 …
DOACs versus Warfarin: What is their impact on mortality?
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 …
The ‘Top Five Changes’ Project: Let’s Not Forget Changes to First Aid
View PostThe ‘Top Five Changes’ Project: 2015 AHA guidelines on CPR + ECC update infographic series
Editor’s Note: Last Wednesday was like the night before Christmas for the BoringEM team. We had trouble getting to sleep as we awaited the Thursday release of the 2015 ILCOR / AHA / Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)! We spent the prior week planning for how our team could help to translate and disseminate this material to our readers, the #FOAMed community, and around the world. We are happy …
Knowledge Translation: SUSPEND(ing) medical expulsive therapy belief
Editor’s Note: This week we are fortunate to get a great review of the recent SUSPEND article on medical expulsive therapy (MET) in the setting of acute renal colic. We are doubly lucky to have the post reviewed by a urologist, Dr. Michael Leveridge (who not only is a great surgeon but knows how to rock a moustache). He reveals some of the thoughts of colleagues who participated in the #urojc twitter journal club on the article. …