November 30, 2017
There are many reasons that bananas are my favorite fruit. They’re delicious, can be enjoyed nearly anywhere, and make for hilarious comic strips: There’s really nothing bad you can say about a banana. Here’s the setup: imagine you’re at the park on a beautiful day
November 14, 2017
A 50-year-old insulin-dependent diabetic was found unresponsive by family. He was taken to the ED and suffered a seizure upon arrival. His blood glucose level was 14. D50 was administered, his sugar level stabilized, and he was discharged home. He returned to the ER less
November 6, 2017
A young healthy person takes a fall and presents to the ED with left-sided shoulder pain. Here is the x-ray: Obviously this is a comminuted clavicle fracture. The question is: does this patient need urgent referral to an orthopedic surgeon for repair or is a
October 16, 2017
A young healthy person was involved in a high-speed MVA. She arrived with positive ‘seat-belt’ signs and complaining of pain in the chest and abdomen. On exam, her trachea was mid-line, breath sounds clear bilaterally, and vital signs normal. Given the high concern for potential injury,
October 9, 2017
There’s a wonderful EM website run by a British bloke by the name of Robert Lloyd. He’s incredibly gifted with the talent of writing emergency medicine topics in a simple-to-understand format. I was fortunate to have him contribute a chapter to How to not Kill
September 1, 2017
Here’s the situation: it’s late, you’re hungry, and you can’t find a Taco Bell. Studies have shown that we don’t make good decisions when we’re hungry. Lunch breaks being a luxury for ED providers, we’ve all experienced that at some point. But I implore you
August 29, 2017
The setup An elderly man slips on an icy spot in his driveway and falls back, striking his head against the concrete. He takes warfarin, and in the ED a CT scan of his head is read as normal. He is discharged home only to return
August 22, 2017
I had an ‘interesting’ patient today. A grown man who presented with a headache. He was sitting in the room with the lights on, watching TV, and his body was percolating that ‘I need a work excuse’ odor. After taking a history and performing an
August 15, 2017
A 30 year old man was jumping up and down when he landed awkwardly and immediately felt pain in his knee. He crawls to the nearest ED where he has the following x-rays obtained: Films show a high-riding patella which is suggestive of
