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Steve Schauer, DO, MS 👨🏻‍⚕️🚑 🪖| PGY15 | EM-tensivist | US Army | C2RASH Lab Director | (my opinions only, not medical advice)

Shorts

What is the 4-step cricothyrotomy method? This method uses 4 steps: Scalpel-finger-bougie-tube 1. Scalpel to the cricothyroid membrane 2. Finger insertion into the trachea with downward traction 3. Insertion of a bougie into the track with the finger it in feeling for the tracheal rings 4. Insertion of the tube over the bougie It is a simplified method for performing the procedure that eliminates steps such as the use of trach hook. While this procedure was popularized by the US military through the Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, it has been described for many years before the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's obviously no RCT data on this method in humans, but cadaver, mannequin, and case series data demonstrate reliability and efficiency. PMID: 9950380, 8922017, 9774928 #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #data #research #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #trauma #airway #military #tccc #navy #airforce #marines #medx #medtwitter

What is the 4-step cricothyrotomy method? This method uses 4 steps: Scalpel-finger-bougie-tube 1. Scalpel to the cricothyroid membrane 2. Finger insertion into the trachea with downward traction 3. Insertion of a bougie into the track with the finger it in feeling for the tracheal rings 4. Insertion of the tube over the bougie It is a simplified method for performing the procedure that eliminates steps such as the use of trach hook. While this procedure was popularized by the US military through the Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, it has been described for many years before the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's obviously no RCT data on this method in humans, but cadaver, mannequin, and case series data demonstrate reliability and efficiency. PMID: 9950380, 8922017, 9774928 #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #data #research #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #trauma #airway #military #tccc #navy #airforce #marines #medx #medtwitter

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ED boarding is when a patient is admitted but physically remains in the ED. Unlike the floors or ICUs, there is no "capacity" in the ED. While nursing ratio recommendations exist, there is no method to enforce it given the nature of EM workflow. Is ED boarding really as big of a deal as he says? The short answer is: yes. My record for ED LOS exceeds a month, and the worst nursing ratios were 13 patients per nurse. The latter was in early COVID. One systematic review included 7 studies and over 75,000 patients. Here’s the gist of what they found: -higher rates of missing treatment interventions (9%) -higher rates of missing home medications (18%) -higher rates of missing lab studies (3%) -higher odds of orders not being filled on time (OR 1.84, 1.46-2.30) -higher odds of orders not being filled altogether (OR 2.58, 1.94-3.42 -higher odds of delirium in the elderly (OR 2.23, 1.13-4.41) -higher odds of drug-related adverse events (OR 1.04, 1.01-1.08) Another systematic review included 13 studies and focused on the elderly. Here’s the gist of what they found: -increased odds of death at 6 months (2.18, 1.10-4.31) #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #medx #medtwitter

ED boarding is when a patient is admitted but physically remains in the ED. Unlike the floors or ICUs, there is no "capacity" in the ED. While nursing ratio recommendations exist, there is no method to enforce it given the nature of EM workflow. Is ED boarding really as big of a deal as he says? The short answer is: yes. My record for ED LOS exceeds a month, and the worst nursing ratios were 13 patients per nurse. The latter was in early COVID. One systematic review included 7 studies and over 75,000 patients. Here’s the gist of what they found: -higher rates of missing treatment interventions (9%) -higher rates of missing home medications (18%) -higher rates of missing lab studies (3%) -higher odds of orders not being filled on time (OR 1.84, 1.46-2.30) -higher odds of orders not being filled altogether (OR 2.58, 1.94-3.42 -higher odds of delirium in the elderly (OR 2.23, 1.13-4.41) -higher odds of drug-related adverse events (OR 1.04, 1.01-1.08) Another systematic review included 13 studies and focused on the elderly. Here’s the gist of what they found: -increased odds of death at 6 months (2.18, 1.10-4.31) #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #medx #medtwitter

31,228 görüntüleme

"Don't give nitrates to right-sided 🫀myocardial infarctions" This is a myth that continues to get taught due to the theory that right-sided MIs are sensitive to preload, which nitrates reduce. A recent systematic review (n=1113) failed to substantiate this purported risk. #emergency #emergencymedicine #foam #foamed #foamcc #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #meded #icu #criticalcare #meded #science #research #data #medx #medtwitter

"Don't give nitrates to right-sided 🫀myocardial infarctions" This is a myth that continues to get taught due to the theory that right-sided MIs are sensitive to preload, which nitrates reduce. A recent systematic review (n=1113) failed to substantiate this purported risk. #emergency #emergencymedicine #foam #foamed #foamcc #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #meded #icu #criticalcare #meded #science #research #data #medx #medtwitter

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What is a Bakri balloon? If you work in rural or critical access EDs, this is a must know, IMO. Precipitous deliveries without obstetric support definitely ranks in my top 10 most nerve-wracking events. The overwhelming majority are autopilot events, but the rare complication can potentially lead to, not 1, but 2 patients at risk. Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal death. When uterotonics are ineffective, ACOG recommends placement of a Bakri balloon. This is a large balloon that is inserted into the uterus under direct visualization and inflated for balloon tamponade. These are decently effective, but displacement happens in nearly 10% of the cases. 1% will go on to need a hysterectomy. Thus, these should be viewed as a temporizing measure with rapid transfer to a hospital with obstetric services. Of note, there are newer vacuum devices on the market that may be more effective. Additionally, they are probably more physiologic. I have no personal experience with these vacuum devices, so maybe someone with experience with them can comment on ease of use. I have also never seen them in an ED. #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #data #research #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #obgyn #obstetrics #baby #mother #medx #medtwitter

What is a Bakri balloon? If you work in rural or critical access EDs, this is a must know, IMO. Precipitous deliveries without obstetric support definitely ranks in my top 10 most nerve-wracking events. The overwhelming majority are autopilot events, but the rare complication can potentially lead to, not 1, but 2 patients at risk. Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal death. When uterotonics are ineffective, ACOG recommends placement of a Bakri balloon. This is a large balloon that is inserted into the uterus under direct visualization and inflated for balloon tamponade. These are decently effective, but displacement happens in nearly 10% of the cases. 1% will go on to need a hysterectomy. Thus, these should be viewed as a temporizing measure with rapid transfer to a hospital with obstetric services. Of note, there are newer vacuum devices on the market that may be more effective. Additionally, they are probably more physiologic. I have no personal experience with these vacuum devices, so maybe someone with experience with them can comment on ease of use. I have also never seen them in an ED. #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #data #research #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #obgyn #obstetrics #baby #mother #medx #medtwitter

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Should we be reaching for lorazepam (Ativan) for seizures? The short answer is no, our first line therapy should be midazolam (Versed). Midazolam has a faster onset time and is tolerated well in very high doses provided adequate airway support. One high-quality RCT found that IM midazolam worked as well as IV lorazepam. -PMID 22335736 The right starting dose of IM midazolam is 10mg. That said, at least they got the dose correct. The dose for seizures is NOT 1mg of lorazepam. The starting dose should be 4-8mg (0.1mg/kg). In one high-quality, using a higher dose resulted in LESS intubations than lower doses. This is because the seizures terminated faster. Use the same dosing for midazolam. -PMID 33664203, 9738086 #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #neurology #brain #seizure #medx #medtwitter

Should we be reaching for lorazepam (Ativan) for seizures? The short answer is no, our first line therapy should be midazolam (Versed). Midazolam has a faster onset time and is tolerated well in very high doses provided adequate airway support. One high-quality RCT found that IM midazolam worked as well as IV lorazepam. -PMID 22335736 The right starting dose of IM midazolam is 10mg. That said, at least they got the dose correct. The dose for seizures is NOT 1mg of lorazepam. The starting dose should be 4-8mg (0.1mg/kg). In one high-quality, using a higher dose resulted in LESS intubations than lower doses. This is because the seizures terminated faster. Use the same dosing for midazolam. -PMID 33664203, 9738086 #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #neurology #brain #seizure #medx #medtwitter

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Listen to this termination of resuscitation… which is how it should happen. There are several things to note that Dr. Robby from The Pitt did here that are spot-on. 1. He, in no uncertain terms, told her parents that her cardiac arrest was non-survivable. This is not the time to list out percentages or probabilities. This is the time to provide certainty to the inevitable death. 2. He told the parents when the appropriate time was to terminate resuscitation. Notice… No one said, “hey, so, do you want us to keep going or what?”. When a statement like that or similar is used, what the family hear are, “so… do YOU want to let granny die now or what?” You, the medical professional, that understands physiology and abysmal outcome even if ROSC is achieved at this point should be the one bearing the burden of making that decision, not the family member. 3. He offered to allow the remaining family to come in before stopping all of the visible efforts of resuscitation. (see previous post on this topic) My general gist is something like this, “Johnny has had no pulse and no blood flow to the brain for 40 minutes. Even if all the things we are doing were to get his heart beating again, he has suffered permanent brain damage. He will never wake up and be the same person you’ve him as. Now is the appropriate time to stop.” More to come on potassium levels and cardiac arrest... #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #family #death #cpr #medx #medtwitter

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Read the story 👇 It's so often that those of us who work in EM and critical care see devastating injuries and wonder whether we're really making a difference... SPC Jordan Kirkpatrick is a U.S. Army Soldier who was riding his motorcycle on his day off when he had a high-speed collision. He had a bad TBI (IPH, SAH, DAI), pulmonary contusions, multiple rib fractures, skull fracture, facial fractures, femur fracture, multiple pelvic fractures, and a splenic laceration. EMS found him hypotense with a GCS of 3. Shortly after EMS arrival, he arrested. EMS started CPR, an i-gel was placed, and his chest was decompressed with ROSC achieved. In the ED, they intubated him, placed chest tubes, and transfusions were started. He was emergently taken to the OR for a multi-surgeon case and received >30 units of blood. Shortly after surgery, he went into ARDS/TRALI refractory to all medical management. uchealth LifeLine air lifted in very critical condition to University of Colorado Anschutz where he was emergently cannulated for ECMO. He had a bolt and EVD placed, was deeply sedated, paralyzed, and cooled for his TBI. He spent several weeks on ECMO in our CTICU and then was decannulated and transferred to our STICU, where he spent several months receiving dozens of procedures. I was part of his critical team in the STICU for several weeks. He's now almost fully recovered mentally and is making progress physically recovering. Next week, he will be discharged from in-patient rehab. He will rejoin his fellow Soldiers at Fort Carson and transition to the Soldier Recovery Unit. The video and photos are from him and his family documenting his journey. It's patients like Jordan who remind you that what you do matters. (Photos, video, and story shared with patient and family permission) #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #trauma #motivation #motivating

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E-CPR is the use of ECMO in the setting of cardiac arrest, similar to what happened in this episode. In this episode a patient without reliable ROSC is emergently cannulated for veno-arterial-ECMO which provides cardiopulmonary support (veno-venous-ECMO is not useful for this indication for those not familiar with the devices). The data on this topic have found an inconsistent benefit in the short-term for improving survival with good neurological outcome. One SR-MA by Tommaso Scquizzato, MD found probable benefit for improving survival with good neurological outcomes when evaluating available RCTs, most notable with an initial shockable rhythm. However, a more recent SR-MA that included these RCTs along with observational data found no benefit. This suggests that the benefits, if present, are probably not as robust as we’d like, particularly when you consider the cost of an E-CPR program. There are several caveats about this data to be aware of… 1. The centers participating in the RCTs have very well-greased systems. These are not centers that dabble in E-CPR. This includes readily available proceduralists, intensivists that are familiar with VA-ECMO, perfusionists, ECMO nurses, RT’s that understand vent management while on ECMO, etc. One high-quality RCT found a median hospital arrival to successful cannulation time of 20 minutes – this is really fast for all the moving pieces involved (PMID: 36720132). Since these are clinical trials, they are also not subject to “indication creep” that invariably occurs when something becomes a routine practice. 2. There is a growing discussion about the applicability of the available data. Advancements in technology, particularly the microaxial flow pumps (e.g. Impella) have changed how we manage MCS, now commonly referred to as “Ecpella”. The Impella technology continues to advance with faster flow rates, right-sided support devices, and potentially future devices with oxygenators. #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #heart #cpr #medx #medtwitter

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What is the data on pediatric drowning outcomes? A 2016 systematic review with meta-analysis included 24 studies and >3000 pediatric drownings. Here’s the gist of what they found: Factors associated with survival were: -Submersion time (longer=bad) -EMS response time (longer=bad) -Salt water versus fresh water (salt water improved survival) Things not associated with survival: -Age -Water temperature -Witnessed versus unwitnessed The most important point worth noting is that a submersion time >25 minutes was invariably fatal. This also highlights that if you stumble upon a pediatric drowning victim, your priorities should be extraction from the water and calling EMS. Another narrative review found the following: -If you are in deep water, two rescuer in-water resuscitation was associated with improved survival -1 small study assessed AED use on-board small boats and noted no adverse events -2 studies found that bystander CPR was associated with improved outcomes… duh -5 studies assessed discharge from the ED if they regain consciousness provided they have normal vital signs and a CXR w/o signs of pulmonary edema… of note, they all had brief submersion times -14 studies assessed ECMO (mostly VA), finding that it was most successful when used post-ROSC for refractory profound hypothermia with poor outcomes noted among E-CPR applications PMID: 27154004 PMID: 33549689 #emergency #emergencymedicine #criticalcare #icu #erlife #iculife #science #army #armymedicine #armyemdoc #resuscitation #research #data #family #death #cpr #pediatrics #kids #medx #medtwitter

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