Author: Dave Saintsing Educational Pearls: Poor sleep is an independent risk factor for development of health problems such as type 2 diabetes. A 2019 study, randomized participants to 3 groups: 9 hours of sleep, 5 hours of sleep with weekend catch-up sleep, and 5 hours of sleep without catch-up sleep. In the sleep deprived (5…
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Contributor: Peter Bakes, MD Educational Pearls: While there are many different types of medical error, one of the most common errors in emergency medicine is failure to diagnose Systematic error in thinking that negatively affects judgement Medical errors are often driven by cognitive biases, which include anchoring, attribution, and availability Anchoring bias occurs when…
Read MoreAuthor: Dylan Luyten, MD Educational Pearls: Actual wait times are weakly correlated to patient satisfaction but the difference between perceived/expected wait times and actual wait times is strongly correlated Having others in the room or with the patient while they wait also has a positive effect Under-promising and over-delivering can result in better patient experience…
Read MoreAuthor: Michael Hunt, MD Educational Pearls: A recent study evaluated the relationship between abnormal orthostatic vital signs and serious outcomes within 30 days in patients over 60 presenting to the ED with syncope Of the roughly 2000 patients enrolled, about ⅓ had abnormal orthostatic vital signs There was no statistically significance between orthostatic vital signs…
Read MoreAuthor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Choose the longest needle for the humeral IO Internally rotate and adduct the patients hand (resting on umbilicus) for best access to the site Aim 1 cm superior to the greater tuberosity of the humerus with the needle angled 45 degrees inferiorly Maintaining the line is critical – keep…
Read MoreAuthor: Eric Miller, MD Educational Pearls: Recent CDC statement warns against consumption of cookie dough Two common ingredients can pose risk: eggs and flour Flour in dough is a raw agricultural product not treated to kill E. coli A 2016 E. coli outbreak was linked to flour References: https://www.cdc.gov/features/no-raw-dough/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2016/o121-06-16/index.html Summarized by Travis Barlock,…
Read MoreAuthor: Katrina Iverson, MD Educational Pearls: The winter holiday months present a unique picture of patient presentations to the emergency department Some of the unique presentations include: Children falling off Santa’s lap Sledding injuries Falling off ladders Lacerations, ingestion, and insertion of broken ornaments (pediatrics) Parents tend to hurt themselves on their children’s toys References:…
Read MoreAuthor: Ryan Circh, MD Educational Pearls: Myofascial pain syndrome (MFPS) is typically unilateral with discrete points of palpable pain Often secondary to repeated use and poor posture. MFPS typically responds very well to trigger point injections. Fibromyalgia is bilateral and diffuse and is thought to have a psychological component Some of the best pharmacological treatments…
Read MoreAuthor: Sam Killian, MD Educational Pearls: Recent news articles are showing an increase in injuries related to riding electric scooters Year-to-year, scooter injuries have increased as high as three to four times More definitive evidence still to come Editor’s note: don’t follow birdgraveyard on instagram References: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/scooter-use-is-rising-in-major-cities-so-are-trips-to-the-emergency-room/2018/09/06/53d6a8d4-abd6-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a6e46ff35bdc https://kutv.com/news/local/er-doctors-report-161-increase-in-scooter-injuries-in-downtown-salt-lake-city Summary by Travis Barlock, MS4 |…
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