Welcome to this week's edition of The Cheese where we will discuss an ED classic, the incision and drainage. Get your scalpels ready as we dive into this cheesy topic!!
You’re on green team and your patient in bed 8 arrives with a fluctuant back mass. It started as a small pimple, but now it’s a full blown abscess and it’s up to you to pop it. So what’s the deal, can I just suck the pus out, do they need antibiotics, and what about packing? Deep breath, we’re here to discuss all you need to know about this common ED procedure.
Samsom Frendo, MD and Eric Leser, MD
Read MoreA 70 year old female with HIV, diabetes, hypertension, COPD/asthma, and CKD3 presents to the emergency department with a complaint of worsening shortness of breath. She believes her shortness of breath is typical of her COPD exacerbation but notes new, intermittent left-sided chest pressure. The initial lab results are significant only for a BNP of 545. The vitals are notable for bradycardia with a rate in the 40s. The patient's initial EKG (Figure 1).
Abish Kharel, MD and Ari Edelheit, MD
Read MoreA 79-year-old female with hypertension, CKD Stage 4, history of breast cancer s/p tamoxifen therapy, osteoporosis presenting to the emergency department for pleuritic chest pain radiating to back. Laboratory work-up is significant for a troponin of 0.24, a d-dimer of 2.40., and a creatinine of 2.4 (baseline 1.8). The plan is for the patient to be admitted to medicine for V/Q scan to evaluate for pulmonary embolism. The patient’s EKG (Figure 1) is shown below.
Michael Hohl, MD and Ari Edelheit, MD
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