About Andrew Grock, MD

Lead Editor/Co-Founder of ALiEM Approved Instructional Resources (AIR)
Faculty Physician, Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
UCLA Emergency Medicine Department

New AIR Series: ALiEM Approved Instructional Resources

On behalf of the AIR Executive Board, we are excited to introduce the Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) series! The AIR series was conceived to provide a credible method by which an U.S. Emergency Medicine resident can receive academic credit for using Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM) resources. The Executive Board will release a list of high-quality FOAM educational posts and podcasts specially selected by our Executive Board, in parallel with the CORD residency training curriculum. We will have an accompanying quiz for each list and track who completes it. EM residents who complete the quiz can hopefully receive credit for Individualized Interactive Instruction (III) from their EM residency for training purposes.
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By Andrew Grock, MD|2018-10-28T21:43:12-07:00Jul 16, 2014|Approved Instructional Resources (AIR series)|

Amylase Level for Pancreatitis: Stop doing it

A patient actively vomiting is wheeled into your ED. Within minutes IV access is obtained, and your nurse asks what tests and medicines are wanted. A liter of normal saline, ondansetron, and an H2 blocker are easy, but what labs to order? I think we can all agree on a metabolic profile to look at electrolytes and liver function tests, and a lipase level to assess for pancreatitis. But what about an amylase level?

Originally from Clinical Monster blog

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By Andrew Grock, MD|2016-11-11T19:19:23-08:00Feb 24, 2014|Gastrointestinal|

Blood Cultures in Pneumonia

A 75 year old woman is found to have pneumonia. With a CURB-65 of 3 and a PORT score of 95, she is correctly treated her for community acquired pneumonia with Ceftriaxone and Azithromycin, and admitted. Unfortunately, the admitting service points out that no blood cultures were drawn! What is the evidence for this?

Originally from Clinical Monster blog

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By Andrew Grock, MD|2018-01-30T03:01:01-08:00Feb 17, 2014|Infectious Disease, Pulmonary|

Bicarbonate: Completely Useless?

Intravenous sodium bicarbonate seems like a wonderful drug. It fixes acidosis, pushes potassium into cells, alkalinizes urine, and even helps with smelly feet. However, this literature review of four conditions casts some doubt into the seemingly cure-all that is bicarbonate.

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By Andrew Grock, MD|2016-11-11T19:17:46-08:00Dec 4, 2013|Endocrine-Metabolic, Expert Peer Reviewed (Clinical), Pulmonary, Renal|

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