A 44 year old female presented to a community emergency department complaining of an abscess on her lateral right thigh that had been increasing in size for the last 2 days.  She reported having been kicked in that leg a … Continue reading →

I was initially going to do something on chest pain but that will be pushed back for a quick discussion on when to transfuse patients in the ED.  While most of this information can be generalized to any patient actively … Continue reading →

Anterior shoulder dislocations are very common and we all have our favorite ways to reduce them.  I’ve noticed lately, however, that many residents don’t know what complications to look out for and what to do if they find them.  The … Continue reading →

How good are physicians at calling STEMI? After reading Dr. Smiths “Can’t miss ECGs” in EM Resident Dec/Jan 2013 vol. 39, issue 6, I decided to look further into the accuracy of physicians to call STEMI. Jayroe et al presented … Continue reading →

It might be time to start treating patients with pulmonary embolism as outpatients. Over 6 years ago two papers were published by the same authors that presented similar prediction rules to identify patients with pulmonary embolism who are at low … Continue reading →

Tranexamic acid is a medication that has been around for a while, but it has just started to gain momentum recently in the treatment of traumatic hemorrhage.  It is relatively cheap, and the data so far looks pretty promising.  You … Continue reading →

Croup is a very common upper respiratory infection in children characterized by stridor, hoarseness, and a barking cough.  The age range is 6 months to 6 years of age, with one to two years old being the most common range.  … Continue reading →

Brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles reclusa) are common in the U.S., mostly in the Midwest and South.  The venom of the brown recluse spider can result in a necrotic lesion, which is usually the question asked on most standardized tests.  However, … Continue reading →