Trick of the trade: Irrigation scalp wound photos
I mentioned from an earlier post about building a “head basin” for collecting irrigation fluid prior to wound closure. This basin prevents a deluge of fluid from soaking the gurney sheets and patient.
I finally managed to capture this trick in action, while a student was irrigating an eyebrow laceration.
Pearl
When cutting out a semi-circular or rectangular hole in the basin, be sure that there remains a 2-4 inch lip at the bottom to ensure that fluid can collect in the basin.
Patients present with acute strokes to the Emergency Department. Time is of the essence to obtain a rapid neurologic exam, draw labs, get CT imaging, and consulting a neurologist especially if the patient presents within 3 hours of onset. To help the neurologist determine whether the patient should get thrombolytics, calculating a NIH Stroke Scale score is useful.w
Ankle fractures are a common injury diagnosed in the Emergency Department. Being able to speak Ortho-ese (i.e. the language of orthopedists) is invaluable in consulting the orthopedist over the phone. One ankle fracture classification system that our orthopedists like to use is the Lauge-Hansen system.
