Lumbar Puncture on an Anticoagulated Patient in the Emergency Department: Is it safe?
The lumbar puncture (LP) procedure is commonly performed in the Emergency Department (ED). While minor complications of LP such as post-procedure headache or back pain occur somewhat regularly, significant complications such as post-procedural spinal hematomas, are rare.1 Despite their low incidence, these spinal hematomas are associated with a significant amount of morbidity for the patient and increased medicolegal risk for the provider.
Bleeding as a chief complaint in the pediatric emergency department is something that many healthcare providers will come across. Some of these children may have inherited bleeding disorders that we must be aware of in order to provide the best care possible. Below is a basic review of hemophilia and what we should know and do in the emergency department.
Welcome to the first ALiEM Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) Module! In an effort to reward our readers for the reading and learning they are already doing online, we have created an Individual Interactive Instruction (III) opportunity utilizing FOAM resources for US Emergency Medicine residents. For each module, the board curates and scores a list of blogs and podcasts. A quiz is available to complete after each module to obtain residency conference credit. Once completed, your name and institution will be logged into our private Google Drive database, which participating residency program directors can access to provide access.
