Tactical Medicine News Blog

In the setting of emergent care, the ability to access equipment rapidly and reliably can be a deciding factor in patient outcome. Poor stocking, inconsistent organization, and dispersal of equipment throughout a large geographic area are realities of practice as well as barriers to rapid and effective patient care. Equipment kits are a great way to ensure rapid access to a select set of tools to deal with emergent scenarios. They result in both decreased time to arrival and decreased time to successful completion of procedure.​1,2​ Scenarios that can benefit from organized and well provisioned kits include central or peripheral access, airway management, initial stabilization, monitor application, chest tube placement, or cricothyroidotomy. A word of caution: equipment kits are not a substitute for skill and cannot be thought of as a fix-all. They keep a specific set of equipment in an easy-to-locate, all-in-one package for use in a predetermined set of scenarios.

Anand Swaminathan on Lemierre's syndrome, Emily Austin on clonidine toxicity, Brit Long on myths of routine coagulation panel testing, Hans Rosenberg and Michael Ho on reversal of anticoagulation, Sheldon Cheskes on mechanical CPR... The post EM Quick Hits 8 Lemierre’s Syndrome, Clonidine Toxicity, Routine Coag Panel, Anticoagulation Reversal, Mechanical CPR appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

Anand Swaminathan on Lemierre's syndrome, Emily Austin on clonidine toxicity, Brit Long on myths of routine coagulation panel testing, Hans Rosenberg and Michael Ho on reversal of anticoagulation, Sheldon Cheskes on mechanical CPR... The post EM Quick Hits 8 Lemierre’s Syndrome, Clonidine Toxicity, Routine Coag Panel, Anticoagulation Reversal, Mechanical CPR appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

Background: Epinephrine (adrenaline) has been used in advanced life support in cardiac arrest since the early 1960s. Despite the routine recommendation for its use, evidence to support administration is less than ideal.  Although it is clear from multiple observational studies that epinephrine improves return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and short-term survival, most evidence suggests an absence of improvements in survival with good neurologic outcomes.  In cardiac arrest we want to take advantage of the alpha effects of epinephrine, including peripheral vasoconstriction, and therefore increasing aortic diastolic pressure, which in turn helps augment coronary and cerebral blood flow.  On the other hand, we want to avoid the potentially detrimental beta effects including dysrhythmias, decreased microcirculation, and increased myocardial oxygen demand all of which increase the chances of recurrent cardiac arrest and decreased neurologic recovery.  The only two interventions in cardiac arrest that have shown improve survival with good neurologic outcomes continue to be high-quality CPR and early defibrillation. The debate over the utility of epinephrine in OHCA has been ongoing for several years now and many providers are left with the ultimate question of what to do with epinephrine in OHCA.

[Click for larger view] Chief complaint: Left hip pain History of Present Illness: A healthy right leg-dominant 13-year-old male athlete presents with left hip pain after kicking a soccer ball. He states that he kicked the ball awkwardly and experienced hip pain immediately afterwards. He did not feel a pop or cracking sensation but could not stand after the kick and fell to the ground. He can ambulate but only with significant pain. He now has 8/10 sharp, non-radiating left hip pain that is worse with movement, weight-bearing and palpation.