ACMT Toxicology Visual Pearls: Abnormal Brain Imaging

By |Categories: ACMT Visual Pearls, Tox & Medications|Tags: |

An 85 year-old man presented with coma after ingestion of a household product. Two key axial views of his brain MRI are shown. Which of the following did he ingest? Apple cider vinegar Bleach Drain cleaner Ethylene glycol Hydrogen peroxide [+]

Laura Tormoehlen, MD, FACMT, FAAN

Laura Tormoehlen, MD, FACMT, FAAN

Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology and Clinical Emergency Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine

IDEA Series-JETem Innovation: A Low Cost Escharotomy Simulation Model for Residency Education

By |Categories: IDEA series, Trauma|

The Problem Emergency Medicine (EM) residents are expected to be familiar with and competent in performing a wide number of procedures, including rare ones such as performing an escharotomy in a patient with severe burns. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of readily available simulation models to facilitate practice of this rare yet potentially life-saving skill. [+]

Christopher Sampson, MD

SplintER Series: Hip Dislocation | Leg Day #2

By |Categories: Expert Peer Reviewed (Clinical), Orthopedic, SplintER, Trauma|

Welcome to Leg Day #2 of the SplintER Series. Following up with the Leg Day #1’s primer on tibial plateau fractures, another key orthopedic injury of the leg is hip dislocation. A hip dislocation occurs when there is separation of the head of the femur from the acetabulum of the pelvis in either an anterior or posterior direction.1 [+]

William [+]</p></body></html>

Algorithm for ED Evaluation and Management of Pediatric UTI

By |Categories: Genitourinary, Infectious Disease, Pediatrics|Tags: |

When should urinary tract infections (UTI) be included in the differential diagnosis for febrile infants and young children? The EM Committee on Quality Transformation in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) thoughtfully outlines a clinical algorithm to help guide clinicians towards a standardized, evidence-based approach. Thanks to the expert content team (Drs. Shabnam Jain, Anne Stack, Scott Barron, Pradip Chaudhari, and Kathy Shaw) for sharing this clinical algorithm. [+]

  • Gold top 10 winner

Top 10 ALiEM Clinical Posts in 2018

By |Categories: Emergency Medicine|

Happy 2019 from the ALiEM team. We have published so many posts this year that you may have missed a few. Did you at least catch the top 10 ALiEM clinical posts in 2018? These are the most-viewed posts in the past calendar year. From can’t-miss ECGs, to common splint techniques, and new strategies for managing alcohol withdrawal – check these out as you keep celebrating the New Year! [+]

2018 ACEP Clinical Policy for Patients with Suspected Non-ST Elevation ACS

By |Categories: Cardiovascular, Guideline Review|

A patient presents to your ED with an all too common complaint – chest pain. After a focused history and physical exam, you have an extremely low clinical suspicion for thoracic aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, pneumothorax, pericarditis/myocarditis, and Boerhaave’s syndrome. When the labs (including a troponin), an ECG, and chest x-ray yield normal results, questions often arise. Can you discharge her with a single troponin if she is low risk? How do you define low risk? And lastly, does she need urgent provocative testing after discharge? [+]

IDEA Series Highlights JETem Innovations: A Low Cost Trainer for Neonatal Umbilical Catheterization

By |Categories: IDEA series, Pediatrics|

The Problem Although umbilical catheterization can be a lifesaving technique in the emergent management of a critically ill neonate, it is performed infrequently in the ED.1 Simulation has emerged as a key teaching modality for residents to gain both proficiency and competency with this important procedure.2,3 Commercially available umbilical catheterization models are available, but costly, and often require an expensive investment (over $1,000 for a single trainer).4 This expense may discourage residency programs from acquiring the trainer and offering it to learners. In an effort to minimize this barrier to learning, a team from Kings County Hospital “home built” their own umbilical [+]

Accidental Hypothermia and Cardiac Arrest: Physiology, Protocol Deviations, and ECMO

By |Categories: Critical Care/ Resus, Environmental|

Accidental hypothermia is a life threatening condition that can lead to a challenging resuscitation. The very young, old, and intoxicated patient are at high risk to developing hypothermia, even in temperate climates. The pathophysiologic changes from hypothermia make the standard ACLS approach insufficient to care for the hypothermic patient. This article will discuss the physiology of hypothermia and how you should alter your approach in the hypothermic patient, including early consideration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). [+]

ALiEM AIR Acute Coronary Syndrome Module

By |Categories: ALiEMU, Approved Instructional Resources (AIR series)|

Welcome to the Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index, the AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality online content related to ACS emergencies. 13 blog posts within the past 12 months (as of July 2018) met our standard of online excellence and were curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. We identified 2 AIR and 11 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 5.5 hours (about 25 minutes per article) of III credit for this module.   [+]

Shuhan He, MD

Shuhan He, MD

ALiEM Senior Systems Engineer;
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for Innovation and Digital Health
Massachusetts General Hospital;
Chief Scientific Officer, Conductscience.com
Shuhan He, MD