Tactical Medicine News Blog

procedure, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the trade: Single digital block
Your next ED chart: Finger injury The finger needs to be anesthetized. Patient: “I have had this freezing before. The needles really hurt! Is there anything else less painful? “...
Stella Yiu, MD | September 29, 2010
procedure, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Toenail splinting for ingrown toenails
It is 4 a.m. You pick up a chart. Toe pain. Thinking this could be an easy injury, you walk over to the patient, only to discover: bilateral ingrown toenails. Your heart...
Stella Yiu, MD | September 22, 2010
Tricks of the Trade, Ultrasound
Trick of the trade: I got ultrasound gel in my eye!
Bedside ultrasonography is increasingly being used in the ED to examine the eye. For instance, it can be used to detect a retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and high intracranial pressure....
Michelle Lin, MD | September 15, 2010
Tox & Medications, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Burned fingertips as a clinical clue
A patient presents to your Emergency Department with altered mental status and somnolence. You don’t smell alcohol on breath and you don’t see needle track marks. What clinical clue points...
Michelle Lin, MD | September 8, 2010
Gastrointestinal, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: "Pour some sugar on me" | Reducing a rectal prolapse
Rectal prolapses are typically caused by weakened rectal muscles, continued straining, stresses during childbirth, weakened ligaments, or neurological deficits. How do you fix them? You can attempt manual reduction of...
Michelle Lin, MD | September 1, 2010
Medical Education, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Increasing students responses to the differential diagnosis
Anyone who teaches medicine asks students to list their differential diagnosis when discussing a new clinical case. It’s also part of several models for education including the One-Minute Preceptor and...
Robert Cooney, MD MSMedEd | August 25, 2010
procedure, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Modified HAT trick revisited
I finally tried the Modified HAT (Hair Apposition Technique) trick for the closure of scalp lacerations. I have used the traditional HAT trick multiple times but not the modified technique....
Michelle Lin, MD | August 18, 2010
Tox & Medications, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Prescribing opiates
As emergency physicians, we are experts in pain control. We frequently write opiate prescriptions for patients being discharged home. Unfortunately, an occasional patient tries to forge my prescription. At...
Michelle Lin, MD | August 4, 2010
Genitourinary, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Foley balloon be gone!
An urethral Foley catheter can sometimes become retained in the bladder, because of its balloon being unable to deflate. A malfunctioning inflation valve or obstructed channel along the length of...
Michelle Lin, MD | July 28, 2010
ENT, Tricks of the Trade, video
Trick of the Trade: A tongue blade is as mighty as an xray
Patients often present to the Emergency Department for mandibular blunt trauma. Usually these patients have soft tissue swelling at the point of impact. In mandibular body fractures, the fracture line...
Michelle Lin, MD | July 21, 2010
Neurology, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: OKN drum to test psychogenic coma
Occasionally, emergency physicians see patients who present because they are unresponsive despite normal vital signs and an otherwise normal exam. You detect no drugs or alcohol on board. You suspect...
Michelle Lin, MD | July 14, 2010
app, Pediatrics, Social Media & Tech, Tricks of the Trade
Trick of the Trade: Blowing out the candle
How do you teach pediatric patients, especially toddlers, how to cooperate with your pulmonary exam? How do you get them to take adequately deep breaths in and out?
Michelle Lin, MD | July 7, 2010
Tricks of the Trade
Work NOT in progress: ACEP Tricks of the Trade column
Since 2006, I have been the ACEP News columnist on “Tricks of the Trade in Emergency Medicine.“ Four years later, I’ve published and co-published 33 articles on various both low-tech...
Michelle Lin, MD | July 6, 2010

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