Morbidity and mortality of the self-poisoned patient is often related to respiratory complications resulting from the ingested drugs. As a result, these patients may require intensive care and monitoring. The ability to predict the clinical course of a patient would be helpful to potentially prevent subsequent complications.
Currently, there does not exist a clinical measurement that has been shown to be helpful in outcome prediction in the self-poisoned patient.
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This post reviews critical issues surrounding fluid resuscitation based off of an article by Paul Marik in Critical Care Medicine.
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Triage and prioritizing patient care is an important skill that Emergency Medicine physicians must develop to become efficient and effective providers. Previous studies have demonstrated statistically significant delays in door to provider time due to race and volume in the ED (Okunseri 2013, Sonnenfeld 2012). No previous study has investigated variances in door to provider time based on chief complaint.
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A visual overview of antibiotic sensitivities adapted from the Wellington ICU Drug Manual
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Cardiac arrest remains associated with very high morbidity and mortality, and neurologically meaningful recovery (the most important goal of cardiac arrest care) is a regrettably infrequent outcome despite the best efforts of providers. Resuscitative efforts in cardiac arrest patients typically center around ACLS algorithms and attempts to find and correct reversible causes of clinical decompensation,
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This post discusses the rare spinal epidural hematoma focusing on presentation and diagnosis.
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In patients with symptoms of pulmonary embolism (PE), we often turn to vital signs, including heart rate, respiratory rate and pulse oximetry, as part of our initial impression of the patient. Before even considering further testing, such as d-dimer or CTPA, we look first at the vital signs to form our gestalt impression of the patient.
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