Tactical Medicine News Blog

Nontraumatic Eye Emergencies are seldom very satisfying for the emergency physician to manage. However, with systematic approach and timely management they can save a patient's vision. Dr. George Porfiris and Dr. Simon Kingsley discuss four non-traumatic eye emergency presentations. The painful red eye, the painless red eye, acute painful loss of vision and acute painless loss of vision. Several cases are discussed in which an accurate diagnosis and timely ED management are of critical importance in order to prevent permanent vision loss and significant morbidity. A systematic approach to the eye examination is described with particular attention to important maneuvers such as the swinging flashlight test. The utility of ED ultrasound of the eye is debated, and a discussion around systemic diseases that cause eye problems provides fodder for many clinical pearls. The post Episode 9: Nontraumatic Eye Emergencies appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

Nontraumatic Eye Emergencies are seldom very satisfying for the emergency physician to manage. However, with systematic approach and timely management they can save a patient's vision. Dr. George Porfiris and Dr. Simon Kingsley discuss four non-traumatic eye emergency presentations. The painful red eye, the painless red eye, acute painful loss of vision and acute painless loss of vision. Several cases are discussed in which an accurate diagnosis and timely ED management are of critical importance in order to prevent permanent vision loss and significant morbidity. A systematic approach to the eye examination is described with particular attention to important maneuvers such as the swinging flashlight test. The utility of ED ultrasound of the eye is debated, and a discussion around systemic diseases that cause eye problems provides fodder for many clinical pearls. The post Episode 9: Nontraumatic Eye Emergencies appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

A middle-age woman presents to the Emergency Department with altered mental status after having ingested a drug. Is it an opioid? Is it an antihistamine? The key is to pay close attention to the vital signs. They are often the clue to the mystery. I found this great table from EM Clinics of North America by Dr. Timothy Erickson from 2007. I can’t imagine how long it took for him to create all these mnemonics. I’ll never remember these mnemonics, but they’re fun to read nonetheless.

Last month the AHA, ERC, and ILCOR released the 2010 Resuscitation Guidelines. They build on the 2005 and previous guidelines and continue the trend towards more, higher quality, uninterrupted CPR. The complete summary and recommendations are published in Circulation and are available for free. Here is my summary for you!

Ingrown toenails, or paronychias, are usually exquisitely painful and a bit gnarly when they present to you in the Emergency Department. Dr. Stella Yiu described toenail splinting techniques using steristrips or dental floss. The purpose of splinting is to prevent the toenail from growing back into the lateral nail fold. This assumes a relatively mild-to-moderate case. Often simple elevation of the nail out of the lateral nail fold (under digital block anesthesia) is all that is needed to treat a paronychia. Pus is often released with this maneuver. What do you do for more severe cases when you have to excise the lateral edge of the nail? There’s no toenail to slide the steristrip/ cotton/ dental floss material under.