Best Case Ever is a 5-20 minute podcast where an Emergency Medicine Cases guest expert describes a practice changing case, what they learned from it, and clinical pearls and pitfalls you can use on your next shift. Tacit knowledge sharing at it’s best.
BCE 65 Intimate Partner Violence – A Silent Epidemic
I was taken aback when I came across the statistic that approximately every 6 days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. Victims of intimate partner violence and domestic violence that we see in the ED typically involve an abuse story of repeated escalating violence over time that ends up in a crisis situation. The woman is often financially dependent on her abuser and has no one to turn to for help. In one of her worst cases ever from Janus General, Dr. Meeta Patel and I discuss the notions that Emergency providers have a unique opportunity to identify patients who are victims of intimate partner violence; that we should begin by thinking of how we can screen every woman of childbearing age about intimate partner violence in a private, safe and respectful way. We describe the quick Partner Violence Screen and finally how to offer supportive, empowering statements and connect your patients with resources like assaulted women’s helpline and shelters in your community...
BCE 64 Salicylate Poisoning
In this EM Cases Best Case Ever Hans Rosenberg and Rajiv Thavanathan discuss recognition and management pearls and pitfalls in salicylate poisoning. They answer question such as: What are the most important diagnostic clues of salicylate poisoning in the patient who presents with undifferentiated fever and altered level of awareness? What is the best timing and ventilation strategy for intubation? Which electrolyte abnormalities do you need to be on the lookout for? and many more...
BCE 63 Failing Up after Medical Error
Dr. Sarah Gray tells us the story of her worst case ever and what she learned from it. About 50% of North American physicians involved in a serious medical error report increased anxiety for future errors, decreased confidence in their job, decreased job satisfaction, insomnia, PTSD, panic disorder – the list goes on. Dr. Gray shares how and why many of us react to medical error - the embarrassment, the shame, the guilt and sense of failure. She then explains the notion of acceptance that we all fail, that perfection is a myth, and how she learned that "failing up" after of the most difficult case of her career is the best choice after making a medical error...
Best Case Ever 62 Penetrating Upper Airway Injury Awake Intubation Do’s & Don’ts
If you were faced with stab wound to the neck and had to act fast, would you have a well-thought out plan that you are comfortable with? In this EM Cases Best Case Ever podcast we discuss the do's and don'ts of penetrating upper airway injury awake intubation with airway expert George Kovacs....
Best Case Ever 61 Biohazard Preparedness: The Protected Code Blue
In anticipation of EM Cases Main Episode 100 on Disaster Medicine with Laurie Mazurik, David Kollek and Joshua Bezanson, Dr. Mazurik tells of her experience as a disaster medicine leader with keeping health care workers safe during the SARS era. If you were faced with a patient with suspected Ebola or drug resistant TB or any other biohazard patient who required intubation, would you know how to handle the situation so that you and your colleagues were safe...
Best Case Ever 60 What we can learn from Prehospital Trauma Management
In this EM Cases podcast Dr. Joel Lockwood tells his Best Case Ever of a prehospital trauma resuscitation, bringing to light the challenges faced by EMS with the complicated trauma patient. He discusses the importance of checklists, practice and simulation to help streamline the process, offloading some cognitive burden, prepare the team, reduce the change of errors, improve efficiency and etch actions into each team member's muscle memory.
