In this episode we are going to talk about febrile seizures.  We see this chief complaint a lot in the ED so it’s important that we know this topic really well.  Today’s script was written by Dr. Andrea Sarchi and will review how to do a good history and physical, how to rule out serious pathology without overtesting, and how to talk with parents.  While simple febrile seizures don’t cause any harm to the child, they are very scary for parents so it’s important that we know the facts so we can re-assure them and prevent future worry.

Febrile Seizures Podcast

Febrile Seizures Show Notes (Word Format)

Febrile Seizures Show Notes (PDF)

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Today’s episode is the second and final part of Dr. Sheyna Gifford’s interview with Dr. Les Zun on psychiatric emergencies.  This episode will talk more about treating depressed patients, what you can do for patients who board in your ED for hours to days to even a week, and medications used for treatment of acute agitation in the ED.

Psychiatric Emergencies Part 2

A note to EM Basic listeners-

EM Basic may be on a little bit of a hiatus…maybe…

In the next week I will be deploying to Afghanistan for 4 and a half months to help staff the ED of a well established hospital. Believe it or not, the person I am replacing has told me that he has excellent internet access so I may be able to keep recording episodes in my down time. However, nothing is guaranteed regarding internet access so you may not be hearing anything from EM Basic for the next few months. I want to thank everyone who has contributed scripts for recording- if I have internet access in Afghanistan and enough time, I will try to record as many of them as possible. I am scheduled to return in mid-February and my new assignment is at San Antonio Military Medical Center where I did my residency. They have been very supportive of the podcast so I am excited to get the chance to publish lots of new content when I get back from deployment.

Today’s episode is another installment in the EM Basic Project.  Dr. Sheyna Gifford took on the task of interviewing Dr. Les Zun, a nationally known speaker on the topic of psychiatric emergencies.  While we did an episode on psychiatric medical screening before, this episode will focus on some of the tougher situations we encounter in the ED.  For example- What do we do about the patient who is depressed but not suicidal?  How do we calm down agitated patients without reaching for medications?  These are tough questions but Dr. Zun goes througha methodical way of thinking about these issues and offers some real world practical advice that you can use on your next shift.

Psychiatric Emergencies Part 1– Dr. Sheyna Gifford interviewing Dr. Les Zun

Hey everybody,

Thanks to Samiran Bhattacharya, a 4th year at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, you can now download all of the show notes for EM Basic in one easy to use Word or PDF file.  They have been reformatted and edited to allow for easy viewing on any desktop or portable device.

As always- let me know what you think and feel free to suggest any improvements.

Steve

EM Basic Pocket Guide- Word Format

EM Basic Pocket Guide- PDF