Courtesy of Steven Chan, one of the excellent Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellows at CCHMC, are some highlights from a toxicology talk given to the residents on the ED rotation. Activated charcoal is part of decontamination, but it doesn't work well for drugs like Iron, and it should never be given to the obtunded patient. Remember to remove the clothes of the [...]
Over the past several weeks I posted brief reviews of the Top Ten Articles Presented at the 2014 AAP NCE in San Diego. You can check out links to all of the individual posts here, along with the main take home point for each article. [...]
If you had a Mount Rushmore of Emergency Department drugs fentanyl would make a pretty solid case for its inclusion. This synthetic opioid is roughly 100x more potent than morphine. The onset is rapid - two to three minutes. This is in contrast to morphine, which can take up to 20 minutes. The duration of action is relatively short - [...]
In conjunction with the PEMFellows.com Blog I've authored a post on what it means to be a Residency Rotation Director, a role that I inhabit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. At the risk of getting analogical, there are many hats in the haberdashery of a Clinical Educator. Many institutions specify that faculty do more than provide clinical care. Though [...]
And so it is with great lament and crocodile tears that we have reached the end of my series on the top ten articles presented at the recent AAP NCE in San Diego. It took me a bit of time to get there, but I think that the journey was worth it. Look for a compilation post in the near future. Links PubMed Pediatrics [...]
Continuing onward with the next in the top ten articles presented at the recent AAP NCE in San Diego is a study of the use of hypertonic saline (HTS) in bronchiolitis. I'll stray a bit form the usual format in that this paper was presented in a point counterpoint fashion. I've also posted on this topic previously as a part [...]
With the recent influenza epidemic you may have also seen a rise in the number of cases of parotitis. This should not be a surprise, as acute parotitis is usually viral, self-limited and treated with supportive measures - just like the flu! Learn more by listening to this edition of PEM Currents, which is all about acute parotitis. Check it [...]
Let's check out another in the top ten articles presented at the recent AAP NCE in San Diego. This study examined the relationship between time to antibiotics and morbidity and mortality in pediatric sepsis. Links PubMed Critical Care Medicine The bottom line Early administration of antibiotics in sepsis reduces mortality. What they did The authors performed a retrospective observational study of 130 children [...]
You may have recently heard about an outbreak of mumps in the National Hockey League but after seeing several cases of unilateral facial swelling over the angle of the mandible in a school age child you're probably wondering what's going on at your home institution as well. Has the MMR vaccine failed? Is everyone suddenly worshipping at the church of Jenny McCarthy? Let's [...]
Continuing onward with the top ten articles presented at the recent AAP NCE in San Diego is a randomized control trial comparing lorazepam versus diazepam for pediatric status epilepticus. Links PubMed JAMA The bottom line Lorazepam and diazepam are equally efficacious and safe choices for the treatment of status epilepticus in pediatric patients. What they did The authors conducted a [...]
