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So you’re in peds and your patient is anemic. You need to transfuse, but you are confused. How much blood do you give? How fast do you give it? How much: The volume of blood to be transfused may vary depending on the clinical scenario. The transfusion volume is usually 10 to 15 mL/kg. InfantsRead more

There have been a few cases of supra-therapeutic INR in the Sinai ED recently, and at the request of one of our superstar interns, below you will find a brief set of recommendations regarding Supratherapeutic INR. The following bolded recommendations are for your patients who have no clinically significant bleeding: (These are recommendations based on AmericanRead more

An HIV positive patient presents to the ED but doesn’t know his CD4 count. He hasn’t been taking his HAART and you’re rightfully concerned that he might be susceptible to opportunistic infections. Unfortunately, you can’t find any information about how immunosuppressed he is. Is there a way to estimate his CD4 count? Luckily, there is!Read more

Lets be honest: whether you like it or not, it’s a rare day working in the ED when you don’t guaiac someone. To “guaiac them” is of course slang for performing a point of care fecal occult blood test. Its a valuable tool and can yield useful clinical information when used appropriately. But do youRead more

A young lad with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) shows up to your ED feeling very weak and c/o sever muscle cramps. On further questioning he reveals that he started chemotherapy 3 days ago. Labs show potassium of 6.5 mEq/L, calcium of 6.3 mg/dl and a creatinine of 11.1 mg/dL. How are you going to help this lad? ANSWER:Read more

Your patient is a 50 year old male who presents with head trauma.  He takes aspirin daily.  Neuroimaging demonstrates subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage.  You plan to treat with DDAVP and platelet transfusion.    When ordering the platelets you note that, whereas you are used to ordering a platelet “six pack,” the default order is forRead more

You’re on your last patient of the day, starting to thinking about which type of sushi you’re going to order later, when the ultrasound comes back. Positive study, you were sure of it, after all, the patient had a hx of cancer and 3 days of progressive leg swelling and pain. He looked like this:Read more

CASE: 45F h/o ESRD on dialysis presents ped struck. Pt is obtunded, intubated for airway protection. CT head shows subdural hematoma with midline shift. Neurosurgery is activated. No antiplatelets or anticoagulants. Is this person coagulopathic simply by having ESRD? If so, should we address it with any particular medication?Read more

An 8 year old female is brought in by her mother after falling off her scooter one hour ago. She was not wearing a helmet, and hit her head on the ground. Patient and mother deny LOC. On exam, she is well-appearing, playing with her mother’s cell phone. She has a mild hematoma over herRead more

Here are some Heme questions for your holiday weekend. Enjoy! 1. A 9-year-old female with mild type I von Willebrand’s disease presents with mild gingival bleeding after her first overly vigorous attempt to use dental floss. She stopped as soon as she noticed bleeding, which is limited to the space between her upper central incisors.Read more