Tactical Medicine News Blog

Epistaxis is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED)1 that can be challenging and time consuming. Knowledge of the pearls, pitfalls, and troubleshooting tips around managing nosebleeds often can be the difference between a frustrating versus straightforward ED stay for patients. Use the EPISTAXIS mnemonic to help you remember these points.

After receiving numerous high-quality submissions, we are proud to announce the winner of the 2017 Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM) Education Fellowship Contest as Dr. Moises Gallegos from the Baylor Emergency Medicine residency program. His winning blog post is featured today on the pearls and pitfalls of epistaxis management. We look forward to seeing him in person in Las Vegas in May 2017 at the 3-day event as well as the Resident Wellness Consensus Summit preday.

We have all been in the situation: an intubated patient needs an orogastric (OG) tube and no one has been able to place it successfully. Unfortunately, we typically find out about this situation after several failed attempts, when the patient is bleeding and/or the anatomy is distorted. It may coil in the mouth or esophagus. Here I present a novel technique to rapidly place an OG tube within seconds.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common dysrhythmias encountered in the ED. The management of recent-onset AF and atrial flutter (AFl) in the ED continues to be debated. The discussion centers on whether patients with recent-onset AF should be rhythm controlled (e.g. converted back to sinus rhythm) or rate controlled only. This debate was showcased in a point-counterpoint in Annals of Emergency Medicine in 2011 (Stiell 2011, Decker 2011). The rhythm control supporters argue that AF/AFl is abnormal, worsens quality of life, leads to cardiac remodeling and, in may patients, requires medications for rate control and anticoagulation. The rate control group argues that cardioversion runs the risk of causing a thromboembolic event (i.e. CVA, peripheral arterial occlusion). Thus, it should not be performed until the absence of clot in the left atrium is confirmed (by TEE) or appropriate anticoagulation has occurred. It has long been taught that if the patient has been in AF/AFl for < 48 hours, the risk of developing a clot in the left atrium is negligible and cardioversion may be pursued. However, some recent literature has called this classic teaching into question (Nuotio 2014). Prospective studies looking at outcomes of recent-onset AF/AFl patients after aggressive treatment in the ED are needed to further evaluate the risks of aggressive treatment.

Dr. James Willis is an emergency physician practicing in Brooklyn, NY. Being the Associate Residency Director, he enjoys diving into the educational aspect of his portfolio, while keeping up with his clinical work. For Dr. Willis, maintaining balance is key. So when he’s not working, he’s enjoying time with is family and playing with his son. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM!