August 2011 Posts

Headache

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.

Headache

Headache show notes (Word format)

Headache show notes (PDF format)

1,000th download

After 1 month and 5 episodes, EM Basic has reached 1,000 downloads.  Thank you to everyone who has made this project a success.  I’ll be posting a new episode on headache shortly.

Thanks,

Steve Carroll

Airway

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.

Airway podcast

Airway show notes (Word format)

Airway show notes (PDF format)

First trimester vaginal bleeding

First trimester vaginal bleeding is 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.

First Trimester Vaginal Bleeding

First Trimester Vaginal Bleeding show notes (Word format)

First Trimester Vaginal Bleeding show notes (PDF format)

EM Basic Podcast now available on iTunes

The EM Basic podcast is now available for free on iTunes.  Subscribe to the podcast here.