Ultrasound Gel Warmers in the Emergency Department?

warm ultrasound gel

How many times have you told a patient “The gel will be cold?” How many times have you watched a patient retract from the transducer because of the cold gel? How about a pediatric patient? Could warm gel improve your rate of clinically successful scans? It seems easy enough to install gel warmers alongside our ultrasound machines. But, should we do this?

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By |2019-05-14T21:47:14-07:00May 15, 2019|Infectious Disease, Ultrasound|

SplintER Series: Case of a First Metacarpal Fracture



first metacarpal fracture

Click image to enlarge view

A 22 year-old male was playing football when he fell, landing on his outstretched left arm with his thumb flexed. He now has pain at the base of his thumb. This AP view of the hand best demonstrates the injury (photo credit).

What is this fracture, what additional imaging is needed, and what should be the management plan?

 

 

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By |2019-05-09T18:07:02-07:00May 13, 2019|Orthopedic, SplintER|

ALiEM AIR | Neurology 2019 Module

Welcome to the Neurology Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index, the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality online content related to neurological emergencies. 6 blog posts within the past 12 months (as of January 2019) met our standard of online excellence and were curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. We identified 1 AIR and 5 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 3 hours (about 30 minutes per article) of III credit for this module. (more…)

DIY Ultrasound Model Compendium in Emergency Medicine

As the use of point-of-care ultrasound expands in emergency medicine, phantoms offer an attractive training solution for new learners and continuing education. Unfortunately, commercially available products are expensive and likely cost-prohibitive for individual practitioners to purchase. Luckily, there are a number of quality, low cost do-it-yourself (DIY) models published in journals and on the Internet. To help you navigate your options, I have created a compendium of DIY ultrasound models relevant to emergency medicine. The models are divided by system or application with a cost estimate for each model, if provided, as well as a list of materials and a short description. Links are provided for further reading.

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By |2019-04-26T15:26:28-07:00Apr 24, 2019|Ultrasound|

Guideline Review: ACEP 2018 – ED Procedural Sedation with Propofol

ed procedural sedation with Propofol

The last American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) guideline recommendations regarding the use of propofol for ED procedural sedation was in 2007. Much research has since demonstrated its safety in adults and children. Furthermore, many clinicians are co-administering ketamine or fentanyl in conjunction. This 2018 ACEP update​1​ addresses these issues and much more. The following infographic summarizes the key points.

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By |2019-09-05T20:30:45-07:00Apr 17, 2019|Guideline Review, Tox & Medications|
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