Paucis Verbis card: Penetrating abdominal trauma

When I did my residency training in Emergency Medicine and in the first few years as an attending, we regularly performed diagnostic peritoneal lavages in patients with stab wounds injuries to the abdomen. Patients also routinely went to the operating room for exploration.

Now with the evolution of CT imaging technology and more clinical studies, there is now a role for a less invasive management approach. These are the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) guidelines.

PV Card: Penetrating Abdominal Trauma

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

Reference

Como JJ, Bokhari F, Chiu WC, et al. Practice Management Guidelines for Selective Nonoperative Management of Penetrating Abdominal Trauma. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. 2010;68(3):721-733. doi: 10.1097/ta.0b013e3181cf7d07

By Michelle Lin, MD|2021-10-18T10:21:39-07:00Jul 9, 2010|ALiEM Cards, Trauma|

Trick of the Trade: Blowing out the candle

How do you teach pediatric patients, especially toddlers, how to cooperate with your pulmonary exam? How do you get them to take adequately deep breaths in and out?

(more…)

By Michelle Lin, MD|2019-01-28T23:37:54-08:00Jul 7, 2010|Pediatrics, Social Media & Tech, Tricks of the Trade|

Work NOT in progress: ACEP Tricks of the Trade column

Since 2006, I have been the ACEP News columnist on “Tricks of the Trade in Emergency Medicine.“ Four years later, I’ve published and co-published 33 articles on various both low-tech and high-tech pearls.

It’s official — I’ll be stepping down from the ACEP News columnist position and handing off the reins to someone with fresher ideas. Frankly, I’m running out of innovative ideas worth publishing about.

(more…)

By Michelle Lin, MD|2016-11-11T19:00:39-08:00Jul 6, 2010|Tricks of the Trade|

Paucis Verbis card: Burn Wounds

Burn classification and management are key skills for ED providers to remember. Depending on the prevalence of burns in your ED, it may be hard for forget the details. So here is a PV reference card on the rule of 9’s, different classifications of burns, and indications for burn unit referral.

Update (April 22, 2016): This card was updated by Dr. Christian Rose (UCSF-SFGH) to reflect current evidence that topical antibiotics and honey are IN, while silver sulfadiazine is OUT for partial-thickness burns.

PV Card: Burn Wounds

Adapted from [1-3]
Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.

References

Gómez R, Cancio L. Management of burn wounds in the emergency department. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2007;25(1):135-146. [PubMed]
Malik K, Malik M, Aslam A. Honey compared with silver sulphadiazine in the treatment of superficial partial-thickness burns. Int Wound J. 2010;7(5):413-417. [PubMed]
Jull A, Cullum N, Dumville J, Westby M, Deshpande S, Walker N. Honey as a topical treatment for wounds. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(3):CD005083. [PubMed]

By Michelle Lin, MD|2021-10-18T10:23:37-07:00Jul 2, 2010|ALiEM Cards, Dermatology, Trauma|

Video: Caution about patient hand-offs in the ED

Kudos to Dr. Vineet Arora (Univ of Chicago) on creating a great video on the importance of clear, concise, and updated hand-off information on patients. This is especially important in the Emergency Department where patients are constantly being “signed out” to other residents for continued acute care. Whatever hand-off process you are using now, we can always do better.

(more…)

By Michelle Lin, MD|2016-10-26T17:05:32-07:00Jul 1, 2010|Medical Education|

Women in Academic EM video

As a joint project between Clerkship Directors in EM (CDEM) and the Academy for Women in Academic EM (AWAEM), there is a great 11 minute video about life in academic EM. For more information, check out AWAEM’s website.

(more…)

By Michelle Lin, MD|2019-01-28T23:38:24-08:00Jun 29, 2010|Medical Education|

Article Review: Evaluating students using RIME method

How do evaluate medical students and residents, who are rotating through your Emergency Department? Do you have a structured framework for assessing their competencies?

Have you heard of the RIME method of evaluating learners on their clinical rotation? Dr. Lou Pangaro (Vice Chair for Educational Programs in the Dept of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University) published a landmark article in 1999 on his simple yet effective approach in evaluating medical students and residents. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Dr. Pangaro when he gave CDEM’s keynote speech in 2008.