PEM Pearls: Search & Rescue of Ear Foreign Bodies – Picking the Right Tool
While ear foreign bodies can happen at any age, the majority occur in children less than 7 years of age.1 The younger the patient, the less likely they are cooperative with the exam and, therefore, the less chance of successful foreign body removal. The first attempt at removal is the best, so it is important to make it count. Similarly, different types of foreign bodies call for different “tools” for removal. It is important to understand when to attempt removal in the emergency department (ED) and what tools are available. This blog post will help you optimize your first pass success at foreign body removal by understanding what tools are at your disposal.

In emergency medicine, we are so heavily trained in resuscitation that any senior resident could recite the ACLS algorithm to you after being woken up at 3 am. However, the real work begins after the pulse return. Up to two-thirds of patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) will not survive to discharge.
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?
It is thought that the autonomic nervous system is likely involved in migraines and other primary headache disorders given commonly associated symptoms such as nausea, lacrimation, emesis, and rhinorrhea. The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is an extracranial parasympathetic ganglion with both sensory and autonomic fibers. It has therefore been hypothesized that blockade of the sphenopalatine ganglion may produce relief from primary headaches by modulating the autonomic fibers involved in headache disorders.