EM Basic

In today's episode we are going to talk about documentation in the ED. It is very important that we are complete but concise in our documentation in order to provide an accurate record for the patient's ED patient to protect them and ourselves from problems down the road. Good documentation is good patient care so we need to know how to do this efficiently. We will review each part of the chart starting with the triage note and ending how to give good discharge instructions. We'll also review some tips and tricks of the trade regarding abbreviations that will make your charting faster, how to document interactions with our consultants, and even what to do when you have to document a difficult situation with a consultant.

The patient's blood pressure is 190/80 but they feel fine...how do we treat these patients in the ED? Labs? EKG? BP meds? Admission???...but they are here for an ankle sprain! Asymptomatic hypertension is a challenging complaint to deal with in the ED because of so many conflicting opinions and worries but it doesn't have to be difficult. In this episode, we'll discuss a systematic and rational way to evaluate patients with asymptomatic HTN, do limited and targeting testing, and get them the right followup while calming the patient's fears and avoiding harm.

This episode is part 2 of the PE podcast where we will discuss risk stratification and treatment of PE. It's important that we accurately quanitfy the amount of clot burden that the patient has to order the right treatment and admit them (or maybe even discharge them) to the right location. We'll talk about how to classify massive, sub-massive, and "non-massive" PEs and how to treat them. We'll also briefly talk about emergning evidence for the expanding role of thrombolytics and outpatient treatment of PE.

This episode has been a long time in the making- presenting Pulmonary Embolism, part 1. PE is a deadly diagnose that we frequently have to consider in the ED. The presentations can be very varied but we need to know how to work up this disease while avoid unnecessary testing and harm to our patients. In part 1, we will discuss risk factors for PE, symptoms that should make you suspicious for PE, and how to order the correct labs and imaging to diagnose this serious condition.

The last podcast on COPD led to some great discussion online about the use of oxygen in patients with COPD. To address this, Drs. Tim Peck and Colby Redfield are back with a quick summary to clarify how to best use oxygen in patients with COPD. There's also another cameo by the one and only Dr. Peter Rosen on how to suceede in emergency medicine.

EM Basic is back with another episode of the EM Basic Project. In today's episode Drs. Tim Peck and Colby Redfield review the chief complaint of shortness of breath with a focus on COPD. Even though we did an episode on shortness of breath a while back, it's always great to get a new perspective on this chief complaint. Today's episode also features a very special guest cameo by the name of Dr. Peter Rosen. He pretty much started EM as a speciality and you may have seen his name on a textbook or two.

This is the premiere of the first contribution to the EM Basic Project. Dr. Brian Cohn from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri is on the podcast today talking about mono-articular arthritis. He reviews the common physical exam findings, the appropriate lab work and medications, how to avoid common pitfalls in this diagnosis, some evidence based medicine pearls and even some relevant medical trivia. Dr. Cohn is one of the authors of the EMJ club podcast which reviews common EM topics in a journal club style format.

This episode is something unlike anything I have ever done with EM Basic. I had a case recently of a super sick patient who required a big resuscitation. Fortunately, the patient did great and was gracious enough to give me her permission to share her case so that others can learn. In this episode, we'll go over what happened with this patient step by step and I'll review some valuable teaching points on how to get things done in the resuscitation bay and how to think about treating critically ill patients.

This is an announcement instead of an episode. Introducing the EM Basic Project. If you are a senior resident or attending in emergency medicine- this is your chance to contribute to the podcast. I will be accepting quality submissions for the podcast with help every step of the way. I'm also looking for a webmaster to help spruce up the blog page. In addition- if you have an idea for a blog or a podcast or don't even know where to start, email me and I can help. Take a listen to hear all the details and stay calm- I will still be producing new material just like usual as the podcast enters it's third year of production.

In this episode, we'll talk about how to manage the airway in patients with anaphylaxis or any other upper airway obstruction. These can be some of the most difficult airways to manage and we can run into trouble if we don't have a good plan ahead of time. Some of this is a little "advanced" and "cutting edge" but it's important to have as many tools in your arsenal when dealing with these critical airways. We'll review other options besides RSI to include awake intubation, delayed sequence intubation (DSI), and the awake cric.