Run Time: 6 minutes Author: Chris Holmes M.D. Educational Pearls: There was a 50% mortality rate from upper GI bleeds and 20% of cases were unrecognized. Management: The thought was that every patient had peptic ulcer disease or variceal bleeding. First check for liver disease with the bromosulfophthalein excretion test – does not work for…
Read MoreRun Time: 2 minutes Author: Aaron Lessen M.D. Educational Pearls: One of the big causes of C. diff infection in patients is antibiotics because they destroy the beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which, allows C. diff to run rampant and lead to infection. Different antibiotics have different likelihoods of leading to a C. diff infection:…
Read MoreRun Time: 3 minutes Author: Dr. Brent Levy Educational Pearls: Pancreatic injuries are generally associated with blunt trauma and high velocity causing compression of the pancreas into the spine. 3-5% of intra-abdominal trauma injuries involve the pancreas. CT scans are not very effective in diagnosing a pancreatic injury. A clinical diagnosis usually comes from relating history…
Read MoreRun Time: 2 minutes Educational Pearls: Intussusception is when the intestines telescope in on each other. This condition is idiopathic and occurs most in children of the age six months to two years. The child usually presents with intermittent abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, URI, abdominal distention, and lethargy. As the bowel dies, the child also…
Read MoreRun Time: 3 minutes Author: Dr. Michael Hunt Educational Pearls: Diverticulitis is the inflammation of diverticula or projecting pockets coming off of the colon. 2-4% of the population have this and 15-30% have recurrences of diverticulitis. Most of these cases do not have any complications. Flagyl and ciprofloxacin are given normally to treat the infection…
Read MoreRun Time: 5 minutes Author: Dr. Samuel Killian Educational Pearls: Acute pancreatitis care can be very different from someone with chronic pancreatitis – mortality rate is high at 6-10% for acute pancreatitis. 90% of pancreatitis cases are from alcohol and biliary disease. The remainder of cases are from medication, auto-immune, trauma, hyperlipidemia, and idiopathic causes. True…
Read MoreRun Time: 9 minutes Author: Dr. Donald Stader Educational Pearls: Patients with variceal bleeding are sick at baseline, and come from a very sick patient population with a higher mortality rate. Varices occur in a patient with cirrhosis when blood goes through other pathways to get back to the heart – rather than going through…
Read MoreRun Time: 3 minutes Author: Dr. Jared Scott Educational Pearls: The area postrema controls vomiting – not protected by blood-brain barrier – gets input from several types of receptors, the vagus nerve, serotonin input from gastric mucosa, and cranial nerve #8. Physiologic steps: Increased salivation, Involuntary deep breath to avoid aspiration, retro-peristalsis of the upper…
Read MoreRun Time: 5 minutes Author: Dr. Donald Stader Educational Pearls: Can be inhaled for relief from nausea – works for approximately 50% of people within 10 minutes. Administered by cupping the swab in the hands and inhaling through the nose and exhaling out of the mouth. Works through a process known as olfactory distraction, but it…
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Run Time: 3 minutes Author: Dr. Christopher Holmes Educational Pearls: 2 Billion Dollars is spent on Diverticulitis a year Typically has been treated with antibiotics Large studies in Sweden / Netherlands – treated patients in the hospital with either Antibiotics or normal saline. They had the same resolution rate! Suggests antibiotics are of little utility. Old…
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