PV Card: Normal Values for Ultrasound Measurements
As emergency medicine providers become more proficient in using bedside ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool, it can be difficult to remember all of the normal cutoff values. Is it 3 or 5 mm as the cutoff? Thanks to the team at UCSF (Dr. Maria Beylin, Dr. Scott Fischette, and Dr. Nate Teismann) for creating a succinct PV card listing the key numbers to remember. You can download this PV card into your mobile device as a reference guide, or you can even print and attach to each of your ultrasound machines! PV Card: Normal Values for Ultrasound Measurements Adapted from [1–4] References Horrow M. Ultrasound [+]
Diagnose on Sight: Fifth Metatarsal Fractures
Case: A 24 year old male presents with foot pain after a fall down a set of stairs. He reports pain and swelling over the lateral surface of his foot and he has not ambulated due to the pain. Based on the X-ray, what is the diagnosis? [+]
NEXUS Chest CT Decision Instruments in Blunt Trauma
One of the five 2014 American College of Surgeons’ Choosing Wisely recommendations is to avoid routing whole-body CT imaging of trauma patents, also known as the ‘pan-CT’. Until now, no validated decision instrument existed to help guide clinicians decide whether to obtain a chest CT in the setting of blunt trauma. This month, Dr. Robert Rodriguez and the multi-institutional NEXUS Chest CT research team published a paper describing the derivation and validation of 2 decision instruments in PLOS Medicine [1]. [+]
AIR Series: Cardiology – CHF, PVD, and Others (part 2)
As mentioned last module, the FOAMsphere contains a phenomenal amount of cardiology content. Accordingly, the CORD testing schedule and our cardiology module has been divided into two parts. Below we have listed our selection of the 12 highest quality blog posts within the past 12 months (as of August 2015) related to acute coronary syndromes, curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. In this module we have 6 AIRs and 6 Honorable Mentions. We strive for comprehensiveness by selecting from a broad spectrum of blogs from the top 50 listing per the Social Media Index. [+]
ALiEM Bookclub | Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic
They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return. — Odyssey IX, translated by Samuel Butler [+]
EM Fellowship Match Advice: Simulation, Toxicology, and Ultrasound
Subspecialty training within emergency medicine is increasingly becoming a popular route for those interested in pursuing an academic faculty position. This year, we will cover the ins-and-outs, nuts-and-bolts, and nuances for 3 fellowships available to EM residency graduates: Simulation, Toxicology, and Ultrasound. Modeled after the wildly successful EM Match Advice for medical students applying to residency, Dr. Mike Gisondi launches and hosts another successful series -- the EM Fellowship Match Advice series. Podcast: Simulation Fellowship Panelists Teresa Wu, MD (University of Arizona) Sharon Griswold, MD MPH (Drexel University) Demian Szyld, MD EdM (NYSim) Recommended simulation resources/events Hot Topics in [+]
Your Patient In Extremis: THAM To The Rescue?
One of the final common denominators dictating the success or failure of any resuscitative effort, be it a trauma or medical code, is the patient’s acid-base status. In the presence of acidosis, many of the tools at your disposal, including vasopressors, become impotent and the patient’s ability to strike a balance between bleeding and clotting or mounting an appropriate inflammatory response become deranged.1–6 So what are the options to tilt the acid-base status in our favor? [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: Beyond the ED – Recommendations by Dr. Jerry Hoffman
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” As colleagues in Emergency Medicine (EM) and education we can trace both our roots and see our branches. For many of us, including the bloggers, podcasters, mythbusters, and the skeptics can trace our journey back to Dr. Jerry Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman is internationally known as one of the founders of EM, the lead author of the NEXUS study, one of the hosts of EM abstracts, and the original EM skeptic. It is our distinct pleasure to have Dr. Hoffman contribute to this ALiEM bookclub series. [+]
I am Dr. Sara Gray, Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Sara Gray (@EmICUcanada) is an emergency physician and ICU attending at St. Micheal’s Hospital in Toronto. In addition to being the Chair of the CAEP Critical Care Committee (C4), she is also the Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness at St. Mike’s. Despite holding multiple positions, Dr. Gray still finds time to stay well, by staying in touch with her family and maintaining mindfulness. Her love for running and the outdoors, keeps her active and grounded. Check out how she stays healthy in emergency medicine! [+]
MEdIC Series | The Case of the FOAM Promotion – Expert Review and Curated Commentary
Last week, we launched season 3 of the ALiEM MEdIC series and it sure took off! The Case of the FOAM Promotion brought together learners, teachers, and colleagues from across many disciplines to discuss promotion and the conversation nicely evolved to include a discussion of life goals and self-evaluation. We are now proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our 2 expert opinions. Thank-you again to all our experts and participants for contributing again this week to the ALiEM MEdIC series. [+]