Disaster and Emergency Medicine: An Overview

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Disaster and Emergency Medicine: An Overview

Disaster. It’s trending right now. In the last few years we have seen epidemic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever, earthquake induced nuclear meltdowns, and large-scale civil war. It is no secret: both the scale and frequency of disasters are increasing. This appears to be due to a complex interplay of interconnected, global factors that show no signs of slowing. More people means harvesting more food, tapping more clean water, clearing more land, crowding more cities, and releasing more harmful products into the environment. The consequences to this include rising water levels, widening temperature extremes, increasing erosion, and a growing number of vulnerable people. With inevitably more disaster on the horizon, preparedness and experienced leadership are critical for the world’s future.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 5/20/15 - Disaster Day!

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Grand Rounds Recap - 5/20/15 - Disaster Day!

Explosive Injury with Dr. Calhoun

Explosive injuries cause high numbers of casualties compared to chemical and biological incidents

Determinants of injury

  1. Type of blast: high vs low explosive (has to do with how rapidly the gas is released)
  2. Environment: close quarters vs open field
  3. Presence of projectiles
  4. Distance from the explosion
  5. Shielding
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A Pain in My Heart - Curated Comments and Expert Commentary

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A Pain in My Heart - Curated Comments and Expert Commentary

Thanks to everybody who chimed in on our last "Flight"! We had a great discussion on the management of the STEMI transfer patient.  These aren't just "milk runs" as pointed out by Dr. Hinckley.  The highlights of the discussion are below with additional commentary on the case by Dr. Bill Hinckley and Air Care Resident Assistant Medical Director Dr. Matt Chinn.  Out final flight will be lifting off June 1 and it's a doozy - looking forward to the discussion!

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Pediatric Abdominal Ultrasound

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Pediatric Abdominal Ultrasound

After a long shift in the adult ED, jam packed with patients presenting with abdominal pain, your looking forward to a brand new day in the Peds ED.  Your first patient, however, gives you PTSD-like flashbacks to the previous days shift.  

Alice is a 8 year old girl who developed abdominal pain last night.  Her parents thought that she would be okay waiting until morning, that the pain would pass in the night.  On waking this morning, however, the pain was still there.

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CT Abdomen and Pelvis - Hollow Viscus

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CT Abdomen and Pelvis - Hollow Viscus

It's weird how you get runs of patients in the ED.  Some days it seems like it's nothing but wall-to-wall low risk chest pain, altered mental status, or back pain.  Today (and a lot of other days), it's abdominal pain.  Scanning the board you see seemingly nothing but Level 3 acuity patients with the chief complain of "Abdominal pain."  Out of the scores of patient's, you seen so far, the last 2 worry you the most:

Andrea is a very pleasant 20 year old student from a local college.  She came in after having symptoms of right lower quadrant pain over the course of the past 8-12 hours.  She didn't recall any migratory symptoms but does endorse a lack of appetite, nauseousness, 2 episodes of vomiting (started after the pain), and steadily worsening pain.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/29/15

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/29/15

Morbidity and Mortality Conference with Dr. Stull

1. Pericardiocentesis tips and tricks

  • Your needle should be at a 45 degree angle when entering the chest at the xyphoid process, aim to the L shoulder/scapula
  • Use a spinal needle and keep the stylet in while entering the skin in order to prevent needle clogging
  • Keep head of bed at 30 degrees to encourage the fluid to drain inferiorly
  • Can attach an EKG lead to the needle by an alligator clip. You will get an ST elevation in that lead if you hit the myocardium
  • Can use an A.line kit to place a catheter into the pericardium for continuous drainage
  • US probe position: subxyphoid
  • How to Video on TamingtheSRU - http://www.tamingthesru.com/blog/acmc/pericardiocentesis
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Field Amputation

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Field Amputation

Hey, everybody! Today we are going to talk about field limb amputation.

I know what you are all thinking… No, I’m not crazy. Yes, you’ll probably never do one. No, this is not a common procedure. You just might, however, be in a situation on Air Care where knowing how to correctly perform this procedure can safe a life. 

First, let’s provide a little background on the pre-hospital limb amputation. The procedure itself has gained much more press in the FOAMed world and the emergency medicine and pre-hospital literature since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti during which early physician responders were faced with large numbers of patients trapped under debris and few responders with familiarity or basic working knowledge of the procedure (Lorich et al, 2010). A few of case reports and articles surfaced around this time and the field amp even made an appearance in an episode of the popular television show ‘Greys Anatomy’ in 2011. 

So I was told… 

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Flights - A Pain in My Heart

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Flights - A Pain in My Heart

You are the Pod doc overnight on a particularly quiet Sunday night.  You have been looking for an excuse to leave the pod and do anything other than treat abdominal pain for the past several hours when the tones drop.  You thank whatever celestial being you believe in and grab the blood and run out of the department full of glee.  In route to the helipad you are told it is a Code STEMI.  At this point, even that seems more interesting than sitting in C Pod.

You buckle into the helicopter and take a quick flight to the outside hospital.  You grab a set of gloves and unload the cot carefully and walk inside.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/22/15

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/22/15

Oral Boards Practice Cases

Case 1 - 22 yo F in a "coma" with normal vital signs. Not responding to Narcan and Dextrose. Found in a garage. On exam, she has sluggish and dilated pupils. pH 6.98, pCO2 29, bicarb 2

High concern for toxic alcohol ingestion: consult DPIC and nephrology for dialysis

  • Fomepizole is the antidote for ethylene glycol only
  • Can use ethanol drip to treat both ethylene glycol and methanol
  • Replace folate aggressively and early 
  • Methanol is metabolized to formic acid, if you give folate you can prevent methanol from going down the formic acid pathway
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Annals of B-Pod Spring Issue

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Annals of B-Pod Spring Issue

The Spring Issue of Annals of B-Pod is hot off the presses!

Who gets antibiotics in COPD? Does that back pain patient have discitis? What causes pancytopenia anyhow?  Answers to these questions and so many more in this months issue of Annals of B-Pod.  Click on the image below for the full pdf.

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Flights - A Blow to the Head Recap and Expert Commentary

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Flights - A Blow to the Head Recap and Expert Commentary

Thanks to everybody who commented and contributed to the discussion on our last "Flight!" If you missed out on the case, check it out here.  We had a great discussion which we have recapped here.  Take a look below and a listen to the commentary provided by Dr. Bill Hinckley in the embedded podcast.  Look for our next flight to lift off in the next couple of weeks!

What medications could be used in the care of this patient? If the patient loses his IV, how does your treatment strategy change?

This first question sparked quite a bit of debate within the community.  Everybody agreed that this patient requires sedation, intubation, and more sedation.  There was, however, some significant differences in how the providers would go about attaining adequate sedation.

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/15/15

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/15/15

Ocular Emergencies with Dr. Titone

Blood supply to the eye is from the Internal Carotid and drainage is through cavernous sinus.  Bony eye septum is an improtant structure that separates the superficial structures from the deeper structures that have direct communications with the brain.

Key historical factors: recent eye procedures, eye drop use, contact lens use, occupational history, UV ligh exposure

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/8/15

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Grand Rounds Recap - 4/8/15

AirCare Grand Rounds

1. Indications for T pod

  • Blunt trauma + unstable pelvis
  • Blunt trauma + shock + pelvic tenderness to compression
  • Blunt trauma + shock + AMS/inability to evaluate pelvic pain

In patients with blunt trauma who are in shock and have AMS, incidence of pelvic fractures is 10%. In patients who die of blunt trauma during transport, open book pelvis fracture is the #1 cause of death (according to our own QI data)

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The Cognitive Autopsy

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The Cognitive Autopsy

We are in a thinking profession.  

An outsider looking in on our profession may see procedures and action as the defining characteristics of the practice of Emergency Medicine.  But, reflecting on the attributes of the best EM docs I’ve worked with, their procedural excellence isn’t what stands out.  Thinking back on the great physicians I have met and worked with, the ones I strive to be like every day, it is their ability to think, lead, and educate that sticks with me the most.  

And, it turns out I’m not the only one who might see it like this…

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Vascular Ultrasound - Aorta & Lower Extremity Veins

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Vascular Ultrasound - Aorta & Lower Extremity Veins

It's a frosty Easter morning and the ED is "q!&%t," all except for the 2 patient's turned over to you by the night ranger.  You greet the first patient, a 75 yo M complaining of flank pain - probably a kidney stone you think to yourself as you walk in to the room.  Walking into the room, you see the patient rolling around on the stretcher (as one would expect from those with a stone jammed in the UVJ), but something about his presentation strikes you as odd - a bit of diaphoresis, clammy pale skin.  It could just be pain, but the specter of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm still looms large in your differential diagnosis.  You quickly exit the room, grab the ultrasound machine and head back in to take a look at his aorta...

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