About Demian Szyld, MD EdM

ALiEM Guest Contributor
Associate Medical Director
New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences
New York University Langone Medical Center and City University of New York

Diagnoses that sound alike

Emergency Medicine is as much about taking care of undifferentiated patients as it is about naming specific signs, symptoms and diagnoses. After 10 years of medical training I’ve noticed that there are a few diseases that require us to stop and think a bit. In particular I’m thinking about conditions that share these features:

They sound-alike, look-alike, or share words or roots of words
They affect a specific organ or part of the body
They have very different etiologies, implications, prognosis and treatment

The two sets of diagnoses that I encounter most frequently with this problem are Mesenteric Ischemia (or Ischemic Bowel) and Ischemic Colitis and Aortic Dissection and Aortic Aneurysm (often manifested in the unlikely “dissecting aneurysm”).
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By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2017-11-06T18:51:53-08:00Jan 4, 2011|Medical Education|

New 2010 ACLS guidelines from the AHA, ERC, and ILCOR

Last month the AHA, ERC, and ILCOR released the 2010 Resuscitation Guidelines. They build on the 2005 and previous guidelines and continue the trend towards more, higher quality, uninterrupted CPR. The complete summary and recommendations are published in Circulation and are available for free.

Here is my summary for you!

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By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2019-09-05T20:31:26-07:00Nov 18, 2010|Cardiovascular, Guideline Review|

Incorporating debriefing into clinical practice

I’m in the middle of an intense weeklong course on debriefing for medical simulation here in Cambridge, MA. One of the goals many of the participants share is our desire to improve our skills in the art of debriefing after clinical simulations. Although the course focuses on “Debriefing with Good Judgement” ¹ today the faculty also offered a simple tool to structure a brief debrief when time is very limited.

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By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2016-11-11T19:02:23-08:00Aug 19, 2010|Medical Education|

Paucis Verbis card: Procedural sedation and analgesia

From time to time, our patients need moderated and deep sedation in order to tolerate painful procedures such as joint reductions or incision and drainage procedures. There are many medications available to us including some newer ones such as Ketofol and Dexmedetomidine.

This week’s Paucis Verbis is a reference card to remind us of the importance of Airway Assessment and help us calculate the medication doses.

If you want to learn more about these medications and some strategies for different types of patients and procedures I recommend the EMCRIT Podcast PSA Lectures 1 and 2.

PV Card: Procedural Sedation and Analgesia

Adapted from [1]
Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.

Reference

Walls RM, Brown CA. Approach to the difficult airway in adults outside the operating room. UpToDate. http://www.uptodate.com/contents/approach-to-the-difficult-airway-in-adults-outside-the-operating-room. Published November 2, 2016.

By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2021-10-18T10:14:01-07:00Aug 6, 2010|ALiEM Cards, Tox & Medications|

Paucis Verbis card: Rapid Sequence Intubation

The key to success in performing procedures is preparation. This is especially true for endotracheal intubations in the Emergency Department where things are chaotic. Strategic planning and anticipation of obstacles during rapid sequence intubation (RSI) are key principles to avoiding complications.

PV Card: Rapid Sequence Intubation

Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.

By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2021-10-18T10:19:45-07:00Jul 16, 2010|ALiEM Cards, Tox & Medications|

Trick of The Trade: Peritonsillar Abscess Drainage 2.0

Back in September of 2009 Michelle shared valuable Tricks of The Trade regarding drainage of peritonsillar abscesses. Today we revisit the topic and add two more tricks to avoid hitting “big red” a.k.a. the internal carotid artery.

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By Demian Szyld, MD EdM|2019-07-30T15:36:32-07:00Jun 30, 2010|ENT, Tricks of the Trade, Ultrasound|