Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

60 y/o F with PMHx of HTN and DM presents after striking head on piping in garage ~1 hr prior.  Pt was standing up after getting out of a car and walked into pole.  Remembers incident fully.  Currently complaining of dizziness, mild tempora…

Sgarbossa Criteria

Happy Turkey Day We’ve all seen the patient who comes in complaining of chest pain with a left bundle branch block pattern (LBBB).  Many times we don’t have an old EKG to compare.  Just as a review, a LBBB presents difficulty si…

Retropharyngeal Abscess

  A 4-year-old boy comes to the ED with a severe sore throat and history of “refusing to eat”. He has severe pharyngitis on exam an you are concerned that he may have a retro pharyngeal abscess. What technique should be use…

Pearl 11/16

Buckyballs are extreme magnets marketed to adults.  There have been several case reports of intestinal perforation following ingestion of multiple balls.  The magnets stick together through intestinal wall resulting in perforation.  Ingesti…

Pearl 11/15

If you see a patient who has been involved in a physical altercation make sure to check their hands for signs of abrasions/lacerations as these may represent “fight bites”.  If you seen any damage to the skin you should treat th…

Angles for Doppler

A prior post discussed the optimal imaging angle for 2D scanning. Quick quiz: what is that angle? 45 degrees 90 degrees 180 degrees 360 degrees In this post we’ll illustrate the optimal imaging angle for Doppler evaluation. Let’…

Pearl 11/12

Impetigo is a type of bacterial rash normally occuring on the face and extremities that progresses from papules to vesicles to pustules then crusts.  There are two main sub types of impetigo: non-bullous and bullous (caused by S. aureus tha…

Physical exam

Is ultrasound the stethoscope of the future? Is it an extension of the physical examination? Will it replace the physical exam? No. Point-of-care ultrasound is a diagnostic test. It is a rapid, bedside, noninvasive, accurate, diagnostic tes…

Pearl 11/9/12

 Temporary cardiac pacing: electrical stimulation to heart to treat tachyarrhythmia or bradyarrhythmia Transcutaneous: pacing through the skin Complications: significant pain (requires sedation), decreased reliability Transvenous: Insert th…

Pearl 11/6

Pericardial effusion – accomulation of fluid within the pericardium Causes of effusion infection: viral, bacterial, TB, fungal – viral, purulent, TB drugs and toxins autoimmune disease metabolic disorders – uremia, dialysi…

Pearl 11/5

Dengue fever Epidemiology:  ~ 50 million cases per year, mosquito vector disease  Disease syndrome has clinical variability from asymptomatic infection to dengue hemorrhagic fever with shock syndrome Incubation period — ranges from 3 to 14…

Pearl 11/2

Arthrocentesis is the removal of fluid from a joint.  It is indicated for diagnostic and therapeutic reasons.  It can help to differentiate infection, hemorrhagic, and rheumatologic etiologies of joint effusion.  Fluid should be sent for ce…

November 2012
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  

Archives