Join Dr. Dickson and our esteemed colleagues from across the globe to hear how their systems have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what they have learned from the experience thus far. Dr. Colin Graham is an EM specialist from Hong Kong who practiced there for the first SARS outbreak and is now tackling Corona Part 2. Additionally, we’ll be joined by Dr. Al Meyer, an EM specialist in Melbourne, Australia. This episode truly gives us a worldwide COVID-19 perspective.

Colin Graham qualified from the University of Glasgow in 1994 and completed basic surgical training and then specialist training in emergency medicine in Scotland. He came to the Accident and Emergency Medicine Academic Unit at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2004; he was promoted to Professor in 2007 and was appointed Director in 2015. He has broad research interests within emergency medicine and has published widely. Dr. Graham is an active clinical teacher and he co-authors the Oxford Handbook of Emergency Medicine. He is also currently Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Emergency Medicine (since 2009) and has served on the Executive and Council of the European Society for Emergency Medicine. Dr. Graham was elected to the Council of the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine in 2013 and 2016 and has served as Dean of Students at Morningside College in CUHK since 2016.

Dr. Alastair Meyer completed his specialist training in emergency medicine in Scotland and has worked in academic emergency medicine in Melbourne Australia. He is currently the emergency department director at Casey Hospital in Melbourne. He has numerous peer reviewed publications and has lectured both with AU and internationally. Dr. Meyer is an avid cyclist and word traveler in his spare time.

We're joined by a special guest, Dr. Jeff Jarvis, to talk about his recent PEC manuscript investigating potential life-saving interventions in the prehospital setting and their association with "lights and sirens" usage. Be prepared for some dogma challenging discussion!

REFERENCES:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10903127.2020.1797963

The firehose of information that is COVID-19 has slowed somewhat since we last discussed the pandemic, but the first wave has obviously persisted. On this episode, Dr. Patrick and Dr. Dickson address some of the recent COVID developments in treatment, return-to-work policy updates from the CDC and crazy complications seen in pediatric patients.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/what-is-the-effectiveness-of-protective-gowns-and-aprons-against-covid-19-in-primary-care-settings/

2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/return-to-work.html

3. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/infographic-mis-c.html

4. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021436

5. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2007764

We’ve discussed TXA, both for trauma and for epistaxis, on the podcast previously. Medics often ask about TXA in the acute GI bleed patients who are in hemorrhagic shock...“What can it hurt? It’s worth a try, right?” While TXA may seem like a harmless hail Mary, on this episode, Dr. Patrick reviews the HALT-IT study and discusses why TXA for acute GI bleeds is likely harmful and probably dead in the water as a treatment option.

REFERENCES:

1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30848-5/fulltext

This episode tackles the definition of "stupidity" and how this relates to prehospital medical care. Dr. Patrick is joined by Kris Kaull to discuss the definition of stupid, risk factors for making stupid moves and how to possibly prevent these in the EMS setting.

REFERENCES

1. Episode inspiration - https://fs.blog/2019/01/how-not-to-be-stupid/

2. Checklist Manifesto - http://atulgawande.com/book/the-checklist-manifesto/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312430000/

3. Avalanche TedX talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWOgyyDUD2w

We often start with a diagnosis and teach from there – for example CHF, asthma, and COPD are all podcast topics we have previously tackled. But, how to get to the final diagnosis is often a process that all levels of emergency providers struggle with. To go from a chaotic scene with unstable vitals then filter to an organized differential. The “Serial Killer Series” is going to target the most common chief complaints and the killer diagnoses that you should always consider. We’re not going to spend time with non-emergent/chronic diagnoses, just the ones that are deadly when missed. That’s where we, as emergency providers, must begin. Today we’ll wrap up the series with the killers associated with acute altered mental status.

We often start with a diagnosis and teach from there – for example CHF, asthma, and COPD are all podcast topics we have previously tackled. But, how to get to the final diagnosis is often a process that all levels of emergency providers struggle with. To go from a chaotic scene with unstable vitals then filter to an organized differential. The “Serial Killer Series” is going to target the most common chief complaints and the killer diagnoses that you should always consider. We’re not going to spend time with non-emergent/chronic diagnoses, just the ones that are deadly when missed. That’s where we, as emergency providers, must begin. Today we’ll address the killers associated with acute abdominal pain.

We often start with a diagnosis and teach from there – for example CHF, asthma, and COPD are all podcast topics we have previously tackled. But, how to get to the final diagnosis is often a process that all levels of emergency providers struggle with. To go from a chaotic scene with unstable vitals then filter to an organized differential. The “Serial Killer Series” is going to target the most common chief complaints and the killer diagnoses that you should always consider. We’re not going to spend time with non-emergent/chronic diagnoses, just the ones that are deadly when missed. That’s where we, as emergency providers, must begin. Today we’ll address the killers associated with the dyspneic patient.

REFERENCES

https://www.ebmedicine.net/media_library/files/Calculated%20Decisions%20E1212%20PERC%20Rule.pdf

https://www.mchd-tx.org/media/podcasts/MCHDPP-80-Final-PDF.pdf

We often start with a diagnosis and teach from there – for example CHF, asthma, and COPD are all podcast topics we have previously tackled. But, how to get to the final diagnosis is often a process that all levels of emergency providers struggle with. To go from a chaotic chest pain scene with unstable vitals then filter to a differential of #1 PE, #2 ACS, #3 TAD is often quite challenging. The “Serial Killer Series” is going to target the most common chief complaints and the killer diagnoses that you should always consider. We’re not going to spend time with non-emergent/chronic diagnoses, just the ones that are deadly when missed. That’s where we, as emergency providers, must begin. Today we’ll kick things off with acute chest pain.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.emdocs.net/em-in-5-approach-to-chest-pain/

2. https://litfl.com/ecg-findings-in-massive-pericardial-effusion/

3. https://www.mchd-tx.org/media/podcasts/MCHDPP-79.pdf

For the last couple months, we've been talking COVID-19 exclusively here at the MCHD Paramedic Podcast. On this episode, ops takes center stage with a discussion of our PPE/COVID-19 experience. We share our lessons learned and wish list for the future. Take a listen and please hit us up at [email protected] if you have questions or experiences you'd like to share!

REFERENCES:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/index.html