Author: Gretchen Hinson, MD Educational Pearls: Breath stacking occurs when a patient is unable to expire fully before another inspiration In intubated/ventilated patients, this is because adequate time has not passed before exhalation Asthmatics are susceptible due to the prolonged expiratory phase Complications can include reduction in cardiac preload and cardiovascular collapse Pursed-lip breathing can…

Author:  Michael Hunt, MD Educational Pearls:   Most causes of syncope are benign Pulmonary embolism can result in syncope and is life threatening A recent study of Canadian and US ED patients with syncope showed that 0.4% of patients had a PE at 30 day follow-up PE should always be considered in cases of syncope…

Author:  Julian Orenstein, MD Educational Pearls:   Severe clonidine ingestion can present as a fluctuating mental status between typically accompanied by changes in vital signs (hypotension/bradycardia) Respiratory depression requiring intubation is not uncommon   References Isbister GK, Heppell SP, Page CB, Ryan NM. Adult clonidine overdose: prolonged bradycardia and central nervous system depression, but not…

Author: Nick Hatch, MD Educational Pearls:   A recent study investigated the effect of scheduled IV acetaminophen on the incidence of delirium in post-CABG patients in the ICU The use of scheduled IV acetaminophen reduced the rate of delirium in these patients compared to placebo This may be due to the analgesic effect of acetaminophen…

Author: Jared Scott, MD Educational Pearls:   Modified Rankin Score:  measure of disability often used to qualify outcomes following stroke  = no disability, 6=dead, 0-1 indicate good outcome) 0-6 Scale 0-1 indicative of good outcome ASPECT score: uses CT to quantify the extent of changes in the brain due to ischemia 0-10 Scale 10 areas…

Author: Jared Scott, MD Educational Pearls: Beta-blockers can mask the effects of hypoglycemia Prolonged/refractory hypoglycemia should raise a suspicion for sulfonylurea (or other oral hypoglycemic) overdose Interventions to reverse hypoglycemia include feeding the patient, IV dextrose, glucagon Octreotide can be used as an antidote with sulfonylurea ingestion References Alsahli M, Gerich JE. Hypoglycemia. Endocrinol Metab…

Author: Michael Hunt, MD Educational Pearls:   Like all tests, urine toxicology (utox) screens can have false positives Prescription medications such as demerol, antipsychotics, ketamine, and tramadol can all produce a false positive utox for PCP Over-the-counter medication such as dextromethorphan also mimic PCP on utox   References Doyon S. (January 2014). False Positive Urine…

Educational Pearls:   Acetaminophen overdose can also present in patients taking too much over the course of days to weeks – not just intentional ingestions If acute overdose is suspected, refer to the Rumak-Matthew nomogram to guide treatment based on time of ingestion and the time of level In chronic overdose, Tylenol levels will not…

Author: Sam Killian, MD Educational Pearls:   Headache is a common complaint in the ED. It’s plausible that headaches could be correlated with environmental factors A 2015 study ED visits for headache found that temperature was associated with an increase visits, while higher humidity led to fewer A retrospective study looking over a 10-year period…

Author: Sam Killian, MD Educational Pearls: Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) occurs in 1:100000 individuals The disease is caused by a defect in the NOTCH3 gene on chromosome 19 It is an important cause of stroke in young patients Features include ischemia, cognitive deficits, migraines, psychiatric disease, coma, and seizure,…