Most Recent
Episode 43 – Appendicitis Controversies
In this episode on Appendicitis Controversies, we have the continuation of our discussion on abdominal pain emergencies with Dr. Brian Steinhart & Dr. David Dushenski. We kick off the discussion with key clinical pearls and pitfalls in the history and physical exam with their respective liklihood ratios when assessing patients with abdominal pain for appendicitis - a diagnosis that is still sometimes missed despite its prevalence. Dr. Dushenski hacks apart the Alvarado and Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Scores and we discuss the value of WBC, CRP and urinalysis in the work-up of appendicitis. Next up are the controversies of imaging algorithms using ultrasound and CT abdomen, as well as the factors affecting which imaging algorithm you might pursue. We wrap up the discussion on Appendicitis Controversies with a critical look at the value of antibiotics in the ED for appendicitis and which patients might be appropriate for non-surgical management.
Episode 42: Mesenteric Ischemia and Pancreatitis
In this episode Dr. Steinhart, (one of my biggest mentors – the doc that everyone turns to when no one can figure out what’s going on with a patient in the ED), & Dr. Dave Dushenski, (a master of quality assurance and data analysis, who would give David Newman a run for his money), discuss the 4 diagnoses that make up the deadly & difficult diagnosis of Mesenteric Ischemia, it’s key historical and physical exam features, the value of serum lactate, D-dimer & blood gas, when CT can be misleading, ED management of Mesenteric Ischemia, the difficult post-ERCP abdominal pain patient, the pitfalls in management of Pancreatitis, the BISAP score for Pancreatitis compared to the APACHE ll & Ranson Score, the comparative value of amylase and lipase, ultrasound vs CT for pancreatitis and much more…
Best Case Ever 21 Abdominal Pain – Thinking Outside the Box
As a bonus to Episode 42 on Mesenteric Ischemia & Pancreatitis, Dr. Brian Steinhart presents his Best Case Ever of Abodominal Pain – Thinking Outside the Box. While about 10% of abdominal pain presentations to the ED are surgical, there are a variety of abdominal pain presentations that have diagnoses outside the abdomen – so one needs to be thinking outside the box. In the related episode, Dr. Steinhart, (one of my biggest mentors – the doc that everyone turns to when no one can figure out what’s going on with a patient in the ED), & Dr. Dave Dushenski, (a master of quality assurance and data analysis, who would give David Newman a run for his money), discuss the 4 diagnoses that make up the deadly & difficult diagnosis of Mesenteric Ischemia, it’s key historical and physical exam features, the value of serum lactate, D-dimer & blood gas, when CT can be misleading, ED management of Mesenteric Ischemia, the difficult post-ERCP abdominal pain patient, the pitfalls in management of Pancreatitis, the BISAP score for Pancreatitis compared to the APACHE ll & Ranson Score, the comparative value of amylase and lipase, ultrasound vs CT for pancreatitis and much more…
Episode 41: Hypertensive Emergencies
In this episode on Hypertensive Emergencies, Dr. Joel Yaphe, EM residency program director at the University of Toronto & Dr. Clare Atzema, one of Canada's leading cardiovascular EM researchers will discuss the controversies of how to manage patients who present to the ED with high blood pressure and evidence of end organ damage related to the high blood pressure. Hypertensive emergencies are a grab bag of diagnoses that all need to be treated differently. Hypertensive Encephalopathy, Aortic Dissection, Acute Pulmonary Edema, Pre-eclampsia & Eclampsia, Acute Renal Failure, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Intracranial Hemorrhage all need individualized blood pressure management.
Episode 40: Asymptomatic Hypertension
University of Toronto EM Residency program director, Joel Yaphe and cardiovascular EM researcher, Clare Atzema discuss the guidelines, controversies, pearls & pitfalls of Asymptomatic Hypertension in the ED. The literature is thin in this area, and there are many controversies: Does an elevated BP measured in the ED represent true essential hypertension? Do these patients need to be worked up? Are they at risk of serious morbidity and mortality? Should we treat these patients in the ED with antihypertensives? Should we send them home on antihypertensives? and many more......
Episode 39: Update in Trauma Literature
Dr. Dave MacKinnon & Dr. Mike Brzozowski return for an Update in Trauma Literature since the epic Episode 10: Trauma Pearls & Pitfalls. In this episode we discuss predicting the sick trauma patient, videolaryngoscopy vs traditional laryngoscopy, Damage Control Resuscitation, Occult Hemothorax, Blunt Thoracic Aorta and Cardiac Injury, Sternal Fractures, Tranexamic Acid, Communication in the trauma bay and much more......
