Magnesium for Rapid Atrial Fibrillation Rate-Control in the ED

We love magnesium in the Emergency Department. It’s been said that magnesium is second-line for everything (kind of like doxycycline). But what about rate/rhythm control in atrial fibrillation (AF)? The 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for the management of patients with AF doesn’t mention magnesium at all.¹ Dr. Josh Farkas (@PulmCrit) wrote about magnesium infusions for atrial fibrillation and torsade last year. His post looked at its use for cardioversion, rhythm-control, and rate-control in critically-ill patients. Our post will focus specifically on the IV magnesium data for rate-control in ED-related settings.

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By Bryan D. Hayes, PharmD, DABAT, FAACT, FASHP|2018-08-22T06:55:46-07:00Oct 26, 2016|Cardiovascular, Tox & Medications|

52 Articles in 52 Weeks (2nd edition, 2016)

Maintaining lifelong learning is challenging, especially when trying to keep up with all of the journal publications in emergency medicine (EM). In 2013, we published a compilation of 52 journal articles, which interns could read over a 52-week period, at an average pace of 1 journal article per week. In the list below, we present an updated compilation for the “52 Articles in 52 Weeks” initiative.

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By Emily Junck, MD|2019-02-19T19:00:56-08:00Oct 19, 2016|Emergency Medicine, Medical Education|

Whipped Cream Charger Abuse: The Toxicologist Mindset

The Toxicologist Mindset series features real-life cases from the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System.

Case: A 39-year-old man, with no significant past medical history, was brought to the emergency department by family members, over three consecutive days, for anxiety, confusion, and ataxia. In the first two visits, his laboratory work-up, including complete blood cell count, chemistry panel, liver function tests, urine drug screen, and non-contrast head CT, were unremarkable. On his third visit, he was profoundly encephalopathic with confusion and poor concentration. He had bilateral lower extremity weakness and ataxia. He was admitted to the neurology service for further work up. Additional history revealed that hundreds of empty canisters of whipped cream chargers were found in his house.

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By Kathy Vo, MD|2016-11-11T19:47:20-08:00Oct 17, 2016|Tox & Medications|

Introducing CME for ALiEM via FOAMbase

Ever wish you could get Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit for the Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM) you already consume? We are excited to announce that 10 ALiEM articles are now available for AMA PRA Category 1 CME. This is a pilot program in collaboration with FOAMbase and EB Medicine. There is great content on trauma, geriatrics, pediatrics, critical care, and more. We think CME for FOAM is going to be a great way to increase sustainability for FOAM authors while keeping FOAM 100% free and open access.

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By Benjamin Azan, MD|2017-03-05T14:13:02-08:00Oct 15, 2016|CME, Medical Education, Social Media & Tech|

ALiEMU CAPSULES Module 7: Emergency Thyroid Disorders

We are proud to present CAPSULES module 7: Emergency Thyroid Disorders, now published on ALiEMU. Here is a summary of the key points from this outstanding module by Drs. Craig Cocchio and Colleen Martin.

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By Bryan D. Hayes, PharmD, DABAT, FAACT, FASHP|2019-02-19T18:24:36-08:00Oct 10, 2016|Capsules, Endocrine-Metabolic, Tox & Medications|

AIR-Pro: Toxicology (Part 1)

Welcome to the Toxicology (Part 1) AIR-Pro Module. Below we have listed our selection of the 10 highest quality blog posts related to 5 advanced level questions on toxicology topics posed, curated, and approved for residency training by the AIR-Pro Series Board. The blogs relate to the following questions:

Flumazenil in benzodiazepine overdose
Acetaminophen – drawing and timing of levels
Opioid overdoses
Acetaminophen toxicity related to liver transplant
Salicylates and hemodialysis

In this module, we have 6 AIR-Pro’s and 4 Honorable Mentions. To strive for comprehensiveness, we selected from a broad spectrum of blogs identified through FOAMSearch.net and FOAMSearcher.We have a brand new chief resident team and want to thank the out-going team for all of their support!

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By Fareen Zaver, MD|2017-01-20T12:32:53-08:00Sep 26, 2016|Approved Instructional Resources PRO (AIR-Pro Series), Tox & Medications|

Ultrasound for the Win! Emergency Medicine Cases: Volume 1 Book

The Ultrasound for the Win! book, available now on Amazon and coming soon to the Apple iBooks Store, is a compilation of real ultrasound cases that have been featured on the blog’s Ultrasound for the Win! Series.

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By Jeffrey Shih, MD, RDMS|2017-07-19T00:06:32-07:00Sep 23, 2016|Medical Education, Ultrasound, Ultrasound for the Win|