Tactical Medicine News Blog

Distal radius fractures are among the most commonly encountered fractures in the emergency department (ED). They have been reported to account for around 25% of pediatric fractures and up to 18% of fractures in the elderly.1 Reducing minimally displaced distal radius fractures is a procedure that can be greatly facilitated by the presence of finger traps, which help hold traction while you reduce the fracture.2 Often While working in small 5-bed, free-standing emergency department (ED), I found myself needing to perform this vital procedure and finger traps were unavailable.

Severe sepsis and septic shock affect millions of patients worldwide and have high rates of morbidity and mortality as well as high resource utilization. The way we manage sepsis has changed quite a bit since the Rivers et al randomized controlled trial of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) 1 , which had an absolute decrease in mortality from 46% with “usual care” to 31% with EGDT. What we now know is that a proactive approach to septic patients will result in lower mortality rates and better outcomes (i.e. early identification, early intravenous fluids, and early antibiotics). Patients with sepsis are still missed despite the fact that we understand the benefits to morbidity and mortality with early recognition. In this blast from the past study from 2007, Howell et al 2 answered the important question of does elevated lactic acid simply reflect a patient’s hemodynamic status or can it independently predict 28 day in-hospital mortality after controlling for other potential confounders in patients with sepsis.

This year I was fortunate enough to attend the 3rd annual Social Media And Critical Care (SMACC) conference from June 23rd – 26th, 2015 in Chicago, IL. This year the conference was dubbed as SMACC Chicago and followed by the hashtag #smaccUS on twitter. I tried to keep track of all the great take home messages while at the conference for those not lucky enough to make it or who have not heard of it. For those of you who have not heard of SMACC, it is a modern, academic meeting, mixed with on-line technologies to deliver innovation in education in the fields of emergency medicine and critical care. This conference addresses important clinical issues in a format that is energetic, cutting edge, and yet reputable. If you wanna see what the conference was about last year checkout this link: smaccGOLD. So what did I learn this year? Well, a lot more than one post can give justice to, but some of the highlights are listed below.

A new season is upon us again — the 2016 EM residency match season! This EM Match Advice video has program directors reflecting back on the 2015 match year, lessons learned, and advice for the 2016 applicants. Watch, learn, digest, and send us some comments.

We are excited and proud to introduce a new series as part of the recently announced ALiEMU: Capsules: Practical Pharmacology for the EM Practitioner. The Capsules series’ primary focus is bringing Emergency Medicine pharmacology education to the bedside. Our expert team distills complex pharmacology principles into easy-to-apply concepts. It’s our version of what-you-need-to-know as an EM practitioner. We hope you enjoy it.