PV Card: Hip Injuries | Quick Reference Guide
Orthopedic injuries are commonly managed in the emergency department. Often a quick bedside reference card is needed to remind the clinician about the acute management decisions. This is the second of a series of orthopedic quick reference cards written by a team from the 2015-16 ALiEM Chief Resident Incubator. The first was on ankle and hindfoot fractures, and this card set covers hip injuries, such as hip dislocations and femur fractures. These cards were expert reviewed by Dr. Scott Sherman, co-editor of the Emergency Orthopedics textbook (Amazon), and illustrations were created by Dr. Mary Haas. [+]
ED Charting and Coding: Physical Exam (PE)
Editor’s Note (Jan 13, 2023): The new AMA CPT 2023 Documentation Guidelines have been published and the prior physical elements are no longer incorporated into the billing and coding guidelines. See the ACEP FAQ page on the 2023 Emergency Department Evaluation and Management (E/M) Guidelines. “What do I see, hear, and smell when I walk into the room?” While the oral boards challenge you to perform the physical exam in a certain way, the day to day examination of patients can vary dramatically. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), however, has physical exam guidelines for billing that conform [+]
PV Card: Algorithm for acute bronchiolitis management
Bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory tract infection in children less than 2 years old, and especially in those 3-6 months old. In a collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Section on Emergency Medicine Committee on Quality Transformation, we present a PV card summarizing the Section’s “Clinical Algorithm for Bronchiolitis in the Emergency Department Setting” (reproduced with permission).1 Dr. Shabnam Jain sums it up best in her expert peer review below: “In bronchiolitis, less is more.” [+]
ED Charting and Coding: Review of Systems
Editor’s Note (Jan 13, 2023): The new AMA CPT 2023 Documentation Guidelines have been published and the prior Review of Systems section is no longer incorporated into the billing and coding guidelines. See the ACEP FAQ page on the 2023 Emergency Department Evaluation and Management (E/M) Guidelines. The Review of Systems (ROS) was the most frustrating aspect of charting as an intern. Documenting at least 10 elements from systems seemingly unrelated to the chief complaint took as long as a physical exam and was much harder to remember. For efficiency, many of us include any pertinent positives and negatives [+]
Magnesium for Rapid Atrial Fibrillation Rate-Control in the ED
We love magnesium in the Emergency Department. It’s been said that magnesium is second-line for everything (kind of like doxycycline). But what about rate/rhythm control in atrial fibrillation (AF)? The 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for the management of patients with AF doesn’t mention magnesium at all.1 Dr. Josh Farkas (@PulmCrit) wrote about magnesium infusions for atrial fibrillation and torsade last year. His post looked at its use for cardioversion, rhythm-control, and rate-control in critically-ill patients. Our post will focus specifically on the IV magnesium data for rate-control in ED-related settings. [+]
52 Articles in 52 Weeks (2nd edition, 2016)
Maintaining lifelong learning is challenging, especially when trying to keep up with all of the journal publications in emergency medicine (EM). In 2013, we published a compilation of 52 journal articles, which interns could read over a 52-week period, at an average pace of 1 journal article per week. In the list below, we present an updated compilation for the “52 Articles in 52 Weeks” initiative. [+]
Whipped Cream Charger Abuse: The Toxicologist Mindset
The Toxicologist Mindset series features real-life cases from the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System. Case: A 39-year-old man, with no significant past medical history, was brought to the emergency department by family members, over three consecutive days, for anxiety, confusion, and ataxia. In the first two visits, his laboratory work-up, including complete blood cell count, chemistry panel, liver function tests, urine drug screen, and non-contrast head CT, were unremarkable. On his third visit, he was profoundly encephalopathic with confusion and poor concentration. He had bilateral lower extremity weakness and ataxia. He was admitted to the neurology [+]
Introducing CME for ALiEM via FOAMbase
Ever wish you could get Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit for the Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM) you already consume? We are excited to announce that 10 ALiEM articles are now available for AMA PRA Category 1 CME. This is a pilot program in collaboration with FOAMbase and EB Medicine. There is great content on trauma, geriatrics, pediatrics, critical care, and more. We think CME for FOAM is going to be a great way to increase sustainability for FOAM authors while keeping FOAM 100% free and open access. [+]
ALiEMU CAPSULES Module 7: Emergency Thyroid Disorders
We are proud to present CAPSULES module 7: Emergency Thyroid Disorders, now published on ALiEMU. Here is a summary of the key points from this outstanding module by Drs. Craig Cocchio and Colleen Martin. [+]
Director of Growth, [+]
AIR-Pro: Toxicology (Part 1)
Welcome to the Toxicology (Part 1) AIR-Pro Module. Below we have listed our selection of the 10 highest quality blog posts related to 5 advanced level questions on toxicology topics posed, curated, and approved for residency training by the AIR-Pro Series Board. The blogs relate to the following questions: Flumazenil in benzodiazepine overdose Acetaminophen – drawing and timing of levels Opioid overdoses Acetaminophen toxicity related to liver transplant Salicylates and hemodialysis In this module, we have 6 AIR-Pro’s and 4 Honorable Mentions. To strive for comprehensiveness, we selected from a broad spectrum of blogs identified through FOAMSearch.net and FOAMSearcher.We have a brand new chief resident team and want to thank the [+]
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for Innovation and Digital Health
Massachusetts General Hospital;
Chief Scientific Officer, Conductscience.com
Latest posts by Shuhan He, MD (see all)
- The Discharge Severity Index: Early Research on ED Readmission Risk Assessment - August 14, 2025
- Suboxone and the Emergency Physician: Get Waivered Training - August 12, 2022
- A Tale of Two Epidemics: COVID-19 and the Opioid Crisis - April 23, 2020