Tactical Medicine News

A common question is how much should we expect the blood glucose concentration to increase after dextrose 50% (D50) administration. Fortunately, there is an answer from 3 studies. Balentine JR, Gaeta TJ, Kessler D, Bagiella E, Lee T. Effect of 50 milliliters of 50% dextrose...

Background Urine drug tests are commonly sent for patients in the emergency department, however care should be taken when interpreting the results of these tests given their limitations. The American College of Medical Toxicology published a position statement on the interp...

Background Acute agitation in the emergency department is a common issue that frequently requires the use of chemical sedation to preserve safety for patients and healthcare workers. A commonly employed treatment regimen is the combination of haloperidol 5 mg + lorazepam 2 ...

Background Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs), including apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, and dabigatran, are widely used for various indications and considered first-line therapy for prevention of acute ischemic stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillatio...

Background An acute aortic dissection (AAD) can be a life-threatening emergency which frequently requires rapid and precise control of the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure. The 2010 guidelines for management of patients with thoracic aortic disease suggest a heart ra...

Background Caring for a patient that is critically-ill secondary to a toxic ingestion is complicated and, in severe cases, extracorporeal treatments (ECTRs) may be considered. The most commonly used ECTRs are intermittent hemodialysis (iHD) and continuous renal replacement ...

Background Two new oral agents were given Emergency Use Authorization to be used in patients with mild-moderate COVID-19 at high risk of progression to severe infection, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) [1,2]. Prior to this authorization, most evidence-bas...

Background Many guidelines and treatment algorithms for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) recommend sodium chloride 0.9% as the replacement fluid of choice, though alternative fluids may be a better option [1-4]. Randomized trials, in adult and pediatric patients, demonstrate fas...

Background Early antibiotics are recommended for treatment of many infections, including patients with sepsis or septic shock [1]. Critically-ill patients and those with a suspected infection at risk for severe illness are generally administered two (or more) empiric antibi...

Background Treatment of digoxin toxicity can be quite complex and generally involves the use of digoxin immune Fab (DigiFab®) for symptomatic patients. The dosing of DigiFab can vary depending on the amount ingested, serum concentration, and/or suspected chronicity of toxic...