A 68-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and recent ileostomy secondary to small bowel obstruction presented for acute left arm swelling, discoloration, and numbness since last night. He endorses sudden onset of painful edema with the ...
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A 35-year-old female with a history of intermittent palpitations who is three months post-partum presented to the emergency department (ED) with three days of sharp, substernal chest pain radiating down her left arm. She reportedly had a normal electrocardiogram (ECG) at an...
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Background Sodium bicarbonate during a cardiac arrest is widely debated and used in many cases. In a 2018 PULMCrit post, Dr. Josh Farkas reviews much of the data regarding this topic and states that use of sodium bicarbonate is a “source of eternal disagreement.” A 2013 EMC...
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A 57-year-old male who works as a truck driver with a history of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and recent COVID-19 infection presents with right lower extremity pain for two hours. He reports experiencing one day of dull aching of the right leg, then being suddenly awakene...
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A 31-year-old male presented to the emergency department with palpitations. The patient stated that he thinks his symptoms began "last night" and felt like he had “a rapid heart rate.” He said that prior to last night he felt fine. He did admit to drinking alcohol with hi...
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Background There are a few unique scenarios when beta-blockers may be indicated for patients in cardiac arrest. Use of esmolol for refractory ventricular fibrillation was summarized in a 2016 PharmERToxGuy post with an accompanying infographic. Another potential use for bet...
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Background Rapid and precise control of blood pressure is vital for patients with a hypertensive emergency or an acute stroke. Commonly, nicardipine is utilized in these situations, with nitroprusside being a less appealing alternative. The most recent AHA/ASA Acute Ischemi...
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