SAEM Clinical Image Series: Painful Weeping Rash
A 67-year-old nontoxic appearing male patient with a history of coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, transient ischemic attack, gout, renal colic, and squamous cell carcinoma presents with concern for multiple new painful lesions on his body. The rash first appeared five months ago but disappeared for some time before reappearing. It has worsened over the past few weeks. He has pain, erythema, pruritus, and urticarial, blistering, crusted lesions. He has had clear drainage from ruptured blisters. His only recent change in medication is an increase in his allopurinol (initiated four months ago; increased three weeks ago). He has tried Benadryl [+]
Dose Order Matter? Which Antibiotic to Give First for a Bloodstream Infection
Background Early antibiotics are recommended for treatment of many infections, including patients with sepsis or septic shock [1]. Critically-ill patients and those with a suspected infection at risk for severe illness are generally administered two (or more) empiric antibiotics in the emergency department (ED) which cover a wide range of potential pathogens. A typical approach includes utilizing a broad-spectrum antibiotic (frequently a beta-lactam such as cefepime or piperacillin-tazobactam) plus an anti-MRSA agent (typically vancomycin). Early in the patient's hospital stay they may have limited IV access, so the question often arises as to which antibiotic to give first, the broad-spectrum [+]
SplintER Series: My Foot Shouldn’t Look Like This
A 45-year-old male presents with left foot pain and deformity after he inverted his foot while running on uneven pavement. You obtain foot and ankle x-rays and see the following images (Image 1. AP and lateral views of the left foot. Author’s own images). [+]
Jonathan Jong, DO
Department of Emergency Medicine
New York Presbyterian-Queens
ALiEM AIR Series | OB/Gyn 2021 Module
Welcome to the AIR OB/Gyn 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 OB/Gyn emergencies in the Emergency Department. 8 blog posts met our standard of online excellence and were curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. We identified 2 AIR and 6 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 4 hours (about 30 minutes per article) of III credit for this module. AIR Stamp of Approval and Honorable Mentions In an effort to truly emphasize [+]
SplintER Series: I Declare a Thumb War
A 39-year-old female presents to the emergency department with right thumb pain after falling in a skiing accident. On exam, there is mild swelling and tenderness on the ulnar aspect of the 1st MCP joint. Additionally, there is laxity with valgus stressing of the 1st MCP joint. An x-ray is obtained and shown above (Image 1. Provided by Alex Tomesch, MD). [+]
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SAEM Clinical Image Series: Chronic Back Pain
A 52-year-old male with a past medical history of prostate cancer status post radiation therapy 10 years prior presents to the emergency department (ED) with the chief complaint of low back pain worsening over the past year. He characterizes the pain as a “dull, aching stiffness” associated with decreased motility. Vitals: BP 128/82; HR 72; RR 18; T 37°C General: Alert and oriented MSK: Decreased range of motion of the lumbar spine with flexion; Heberden’s and Bouchard’s nodes on multiple fingers Neurologic: Within normal limits with no focal motor or sensory deficits appreciated; deep tendon reflexes [+]
SAEM Clinical Image Series: Pediatric Rash
A previously healthy 8-year-old female presents to the pediatric emergency department due to a rash. Her symptoms started three days prior to presentation with a painful rash on her lower extremities. The rash subsequently spread to the buttocks and upper extremities, and she developed intermittent diffuse abdominal pain, a nonproductive cough, and pharyngitis. The patient denies subjective fever. Known sick contacts include the patient’s mother, who tested positive for COVID-19 two and a half weeks prior. Vitals: T 98.5°F; HR 93; BP 115/68; RR 16; O2 sat 100% on room air Constitutional: Well-developed and in no [+]
SAEM Clinical Image Series: A Young Woman with Chest Pain
A 35-year-old female with a history of intermittent palpitations who is three months post-partum presented to the emergency department (ED) with three days of sharp, substernal chest pain radiating down her left arm. She reportedly had a normal electrocardiogram (ECG) at an outside hospital on the first day of symptoms. The pain returned and was associated with one episode of vomiting the night prior to presenting to our ED. Initial ECG on arrival is shown. Vitals: Tachycardic; afebrile; normotensive; no tachypnea or hypoxemia on room air General: Mild distress, appears uncomfortable Cardiovascular: Tachycardic to 100s, regular [+]
Trick of Trade: Large-Bore Endotracheal Tube To Suction the Occluded Airway
The paramedics just arrived with a new patient to the resuscitation room. You find an altered patient actively vomiting bloody vomitus and food particles. You prepare for a difficult airway. You prepare 2 Yankauer suction catheters, but you are still worried that the food particles may clog up the catheters. Is there a better alternative? Background Up to 44% of emergent intubations are complicated by blood, vomit, or food particles in the airway. It has been shown that contaminated airways may lead to multiple intubation attempts and are associated with poor outcomes, such as peri-intubation cardiac arrest [1, 2]. The [+]
Trick of the Trade: Persistent Paracentesis Leakage 2.0
You’re seeing a patient returning to the ED after a recent diagnostic paracentesis. The patient is complaining of persistent peritoneal fluid leakage. They’ve tried putting pressure with no success. You tried applying a medical adhesive glue and noticed it was unsuccessful, based on the patient’s gown continuing to get wet with ascites fluid. Now what? Trick of the Trade: Pressure Gauze and Transparent Film Dressing The medical adhesive glue trick was proposed in the Trick of the Trade 1.0 version by Dr. Borloz and Dr. Lin in November 2012. Materials Needed MaterialQuantityBenzoin tincture1Gauze 2" x 2"1-2Transparent Film Dressing (Tegaderm) [+]
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for Innovation and Digital Health
Massachusetts General Hospital;
Chief Scientific Officer, Conductscience.com
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