You are dispatched to Sam, an 87-year-old who cut the base of his thumb while pitting an avocado approximately 30 minutes ago. The laceration is 3cm long and you can see fatty tissue in the wound. Sam’s wife asks whether you think he will need stitches. You think that he will, but you’ve been wrong in the past, so you’re not sure how to answer her question. About Sirens to Scrubs Sirens to …
2019 AHA Guidelines Update: Adult ACLS
View PostShould Ketamine be Used for Trauma Analgesia?
Case Description: A 21-year-old male presents to your emergency department via EMS after suffering a motorcycle accident. He was travelling at approximately 80 km/h when he lost control of his vehicle and slid into a median. He has an open fracture of his left tibia and fibula, but bleeding is controlled, and his left foot is neurovascularly intact. Despite receiving 10mg of intravenous morphine given by paramedics, he is screaming in pain and …
The Problem with Mandatory Wellness
Introduction “Medical School is bad for your health” – a direct quote from orientation on my very first day of classes. Along with this statement came a myriad of statistics highlighting the risk of burnout, depression, anxiety, and suicide for medical students, residents, and physicians. My excitement for my first day started to be replaced by a feeling that I was not so comfortable with, like catching a fish that is too big …
SHoC-ED2: Ultrasound and ECG findings as predictors of cardiac arrest outcomes in the emergency department
This month CanadiEM is featuring an article from the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine that looks at the use of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) and ECG findings in emergency department (ED) cardiac arrest patients. While current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocols do not mandate the use of echocardiography, cardiac PoCUS is increasingly being used in ED cardiopulmonary resuscitation1,2. Studies have shown that an absence of cardiac activity on ultrasound is associated with a …