EM Basic

This podcast will discuss how to approach the patient with altered mental status. These patient present a special challenge because there are a ton of reasons why a patient may be altered. As always, we'll review the major points in the history and exam, the differential diagnosis, and a few points on management.

If you haven't done so already, please fill out the EM Basic survey and check out the results thus far on the website. Also in this episode is a reivew of a new emergency medicine iPhone App (palmEM) and an FYI concerning the last podcast on MI and ACS.

This is a topic podcast on myocardial infarction (MI) and Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). There is a lot more to managing ACS then just recgonizing who has tombstone ST elevations on their EKG and activating the cath lab. In this episode, we'll go through the entire ACS spectrum from unstable angina, NSTEMI, and STEMI and how to keep it all straight. There's also a bonus section on cardiac risk factors- how useful are they in diagnosing patients with ACS in the ED? The answer may surprise you.

Also- please take a few minutes to fill out the EM Basic podcast survey. This is an IRB approved research project that will look at the educational impact of EM Basic but I'm also looking for your feedback on the podcast as well. The survey is only 10 questions long and it will go a long way towards improving the podcast and generating some original research. I will publish the results of the survey right here on embasic.org in the next two weeks but please fill it out ASAP since I have an abstract deadline of December 15th

Back pain is not usually the most exciting chart in the rack but there are many serious diagnoses lurking out there that we have to look out for. In this episode, we'll go over how to do a good back pain history and physical, catch the red flags, form a broad differential, order the right tests (not everyone need labs and films!), and treat the patient's pain effectively.

This is a short episode on the EM podcasts and websites that I recommend to further your education. Since I take no money from anyone, these are my unbiased opinions of the best podcasts and websites out there. There are many more podcasts and websites out there- these are the ones that I like. If you have suggestions for podcasts or websites to add, please email me and I'll add them to the list.

Infants with fever present a special challenge in the emergency department. Most of these children require large workups and admission to be sure that we aren't missing serious bacterial infections or meningitis. The risks are high here and we need to make sure that we do the right thing for our smallest and youngest patients. We'll talk about how to assess infants from the foot of the bed, how to get an effective history and physical, how to do a sepsis workup in this age group, and some tricks of the trade for how to do an LP on an infant.

There's also a bonus section on pediatric UTIs and how to use a glidescope.

We see patients with headache all the time in the ED. Most patients with headache don't have a life threatening diagnosis but its our job to pick up that small percentage of patients that do. In this episode we'll go through how to take a good headache history, how to catch the red flags, the workup, and treatment of headache in the ED. There's also an extended bonus section that will review how to do an LP along with a few tricks of the trade.

Today we are breaking from the usual format and doing something a little different. If your patient doesn't have an adequate airway then we need to provide one. We are the experts in the emergent airway and there's a lot more to it than shouting out "20 of etomidate and 100 of suxs" like they used to do on the TV show ER. This podcast will go over why we intubate patients, how to prepare for an intubation, the commonly used medications for RSI, tricks of the trade (and maybe a war story or two), and post-intubation management. This is the first topic podcast that is a lot longer than the usual podcasts but airway is our number one priority so it deserves a little extra time.

Also- for the first time ever- a bonus section on a common medical myth. Should you use the D-word for pain from cholecystitis...as in Demerol? Stay tuned after the airway podcast for why this may not be a great idea and why you should just strike Demerol from your memory.

First trimester vaginal bleeding may not be as exciting as a GSW to the chest but it's something that we see a lot in the ED and we have the chance to make a positive impact even if the news isn't good. The workup can seem very cookbook at times but its important that we get it right. In this episode, we'll review the basic workup and disposition of first trimester vaginal bleeding. Just as important as the medicine, we'll also review how to talk to patients about this sensitive and worrisome diagnosis.

A female with abdominal pain can turn into a very complicated patient, thus this chief complaint needs its very own podcast. We'll review the bread and butter basics go over some practical tips on how to avoid all the pitfalls with these patients.

Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints in the ED. In this podcast we will review how to get a good history, how to do a solid abdominal exam, and a systematic method for figuring out how to effectively use imaging with to make a diagnosis or, at the very least, rule out "the badness".