Welcome to the 4th annual installment of our must-know Emergency Medicine pharmacotherapy articles post, this time for 2017. We summarize some important EM pharmacotherapy articles from the last 12 months. We have tried to focus on articles that you may have missed, but are potentially high-impact for improving clinical practice in the ED. Without further ado, we present the 12 must-know EM pharmacotherapy articles of 2017.
The 2016 American Headache Society (AHS) released recommendations on managing adults with acute migraine headaches.1 In the November 2017 EM:RAP LIN Sessions podcast episode that I recorded, I realized that I overgeneralized several statements about anti-dopaminergic agents and the use of concurrent diphenhydramine for akathisia risk reduction. So I wanted to clarify things and share a deeper-dive on the topic, thanks to the constructive feedback and help of headache guru Dr. David Vinson and EM pharmacists Dr. Curtis Geier, Dr. Bryan Hayes, and Dr. Zlatan Coralic. Below summarizes the nuanced thought processes in the anti-dopaminergic treatment of migraines.
A patient presents to the ED after eating seeds from a plant to “get high.” What toxidrome is expected after ingesting these seeds?
Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico almost 3 months ago, destroying factories that manufacture and distribute medications and related supplies. Healthcare facilities across the nation are now experiencing a critical shortage of small-volume intravenous (IV) fluids, which impacts the supply of IV antimicrobials. With no end in sight, ED providers can protect the quality of patient care by considering 2 strategies: IV to PO conversion and first-dose antimicrobials via IV push.
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A 23-year-old female with no past medical history presents to the ED for the 4th time this month complaining of severe “10-out-of-10” abdominal pain, nausea, and intractable vomiting. She denies alcohol use, but reports she has smoked at least 1 marijuana “bud” daily for the last 3 years. In an attempt to relieve her symptoms, she has increased her marijuana use, however she has found that her pain is actually increasing, and the only thing that appears to help is taking a hot shower or bath. With this statement, the provider immediately considers cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS).
Which over-the-counter medication can be associated with these EKG findings in overdose?
We are proud to present CAPSULES Module 9: Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP), now published on ALiEMU. Here is a summary of the key points from a stellar module by Drs. Jamie Rosini and Matt Stanton. When you’re finished, head over to the Capsules page for even more practical pharmacology for the EM provider.
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