ALiEM’s Greatest Hits for Interns: A Curated Collection of High-Yield Topics
Congratulations, you’ve made it! On July 1, thousands of medical students across the country made the transition to becoming Emergency Medicine residents. It was a particularly competitive year for Emergency Medicine, with 99.7% of first-year spots filled despite a whopping 2,047 positions being offered in 2017 (up by 152 spots compared to last year).1 Now begins the most crucial 3 or 4 years of your medical training that will prepare you for the rest of your career in Emergency Medicine.
The above question is common from patients with a history of an allergic reaction seen for a repeat emergency department visit. The manufacturers of EpiPen caution not to use the pen beyond the expiration date, and if the drug solution becomes discolored (oxidation). But EpiPens are expensive! Is there harm in using the pen beyond the expiration date? What should we tell our patients?
Several years ago I created a resource for my ED rotation that I share with pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and EM physician residents. It contains most of the guidelines and position statements on EM drug therapy that I utilize most often and is updated as new iterations are published. We’d like to share this tool with you to be used/modified to meet your rotation needs.
The seeds of the Suicide Plant, when ingested, may result in significant toxicity, including the ECG findings shown. Which kind of toxicity does it cause?