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Journal Review

IVC Collapsability As a Predictor of Fluid Responsiveness

Filed Under: Tags: , , , December 21st, 2017 Leave a Comment

Assessing fluid responsiveness is essential to guiding resuscitation of critically ill patients. Inferior vena cava (IVC) collapsibility measured by point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has been shown to accurately predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients. However, it’s utility in spontaneously breathing patients is less well established.
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Small Bowel Obstruction

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This post explores the presentation, diagnosis and management of small bowel obstruction.
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Journal Review

Utility of Pelvic Exam in 1st Trimester Vaginal Bleeding

Filed Under: Tags: , , December 14th, 2017 Leave a Comment

First trimester vaginal bleeding is a common complaint seen in the Emergency Department (ED).  Patients are obviously stressed about the possibility of miscarriage while providers are stressed about missing diagnoses such as ectopic pregnancies.  There have been multiple studies questioning the interrater reliability of the pelvic examination. But is there added utility to the examination once the presence of an intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) has been established?
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Femoral Neck Fractures

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This post explores femoral neck fractures – classification, diagnostics and management.
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Journal Review

Should All Admitted Patients with Ascites Get a Paracentesis?

Filed Under: Tags: , , , , December 7th, 2017 One Comment

Ascites is the most common complication of liver cirrhosis, and infection of that abdominal fluid, spontaneous bacterial perotinitis (SBP) is both common (reported in 10-30% of hospitalized patient) and deadly, with a mortality rate of 10%. SBP can be diagnosed by analysis of ascitic fluid obtained by a simple bedside diagnostic paracentesis, a procedure well within the scope of all emergency medicine physicians.
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Pediatric Supracondylar Fractures

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This post dives into the management of supracondylar fractures and talks about some of the complications to look out for.
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Journal Review

Validation of The Pittsburgh Infant Brain Injury Score for Abusive Head Trauma

Filed Under: Tags: , November 30th, 2017 Leave a Comment

Abusive head trauma is the leading cause of death from child abuse and the leading cause of death from traumatic brain injury. Identification of clinically important traumatic brain injury is essential. The PECARN head trauma rule for children less than 2 years of age includes 6 predictors (PECARN 2009). The predictors of “acting normally as per parents” and “a high-risk mechanism of injury” may be unreliable in infants with abusive head trauma.
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