Contributors: Col. (Dr.) Stacy Shackelford Dr. Sean Keenan Paramedic Alan Moreland Dr. Chris Tems Kara Napolitano From military-inspired trauma protocols to behavioral health alternatives and cardiac resuscitation, EMS is evolving fast. Our Medical Minutes from EMSAC highlight the growing need for prehospital providers to think critically, act quickly, and adapt to new approaches in trauma,…
Read MoreContributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: A study evaluated the patient-care impact and financial costs of holding patients in the ED, a nationwide issue Prospective, observational study of acute stroke management Conducted at a large urban, comprehensive stroke center The study evaluated patients in multiple categories: admitted to med/surg admitted to med/surg but held in…
Read MoreContributor: Aaron Lessem MD Educational Pearls: Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is an antiviral medication used commonly to treat influenza Trials show that the medication reduces the duration of illness by less than 1 day (~16 hours in one systematic review) Benefit only occurs if taken within 48 hours of symptom onset Must be taken for 5 days…
Read MoreContributor: Nick Tsipis MD Educational Pearls: The review article assessed 16.3 million patients across six states to identify those at high-risk for critical revisit Criteria for critical revisit was ICU admission or death within three days of discharge from the ED Critical revisits are extremely rare 0.1% of patients have a critical revisit after discharge…
Read MoreContributor: Meghan Hurley MD Educational Pearls: Shift work is defined as anything that takes place outside of a 9-5 schedule, not exempting day-shift medical workers Various ill effects of shift work on overall health: Increased all-cause mortality Increased number of accidents Glucose metabolism dysregulation Increased BMI Fertility impacts for men and women Increased breast cancer…
Read MoreContributor: Peter Bakes, MD Educational Pearls: Recent study looked at if mask wearing protects the mask wearer from infection This group found 1.8% of mask wearers got COVID while 2.1% of non-mask wearers became infected, which was not statistically significant This was not statistically significant and has been used to justify not wearing masks by…
Read MoreContributor: Rachael Duncan, PharmD Educational Pearls: ED visits nationwide declined by 42% in April 2020 compared to the same time in 2019 largely due to the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest decline was seen in pediatrics less than 14, women and emerging COVID hotspots like the Northeast. In recent weeks, this trend has…
Read MoreContributor: Don Stader, MD Educational Pearls: Yersinia Pestis is the bacteria that caused the black plague. It was first discovered to be the cause of the bubonic plague in 1800s in China during the 3rd bubonic plague where 10-20 million people died Causes 3 types of plague: Bubonic plague: characterized by severe swelling of lymph…
Read MoreHosts: Elizabeth Esty, MD & Dylan Luyten, MD In this episode of the COVID-19 Digest, we revisit the airborne vs droplet transmission debate and analyze a highly publicized study on Remdesivir from the New England Journal of Medicine. Research By: Tanisha Crosby-Attipoe & Nathan Novotny Sound Editing By: Stephen Bahmani Time Stamps: 0:00 – Numbers…
Read MoreHost: Elizabeth Esty, MD A dive into how the United States responded to an emerging pandemic and the pitfalls along the way that led to stalled testing capacity across the country before community transmission was confirmed. Hear what led us to our current situation, what continues to be an issue and new technologies on the…
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