A Cook County Hospital Emergency Medicine Blog for up-to-date medicine and more.
Figure 1. Procedural sedation agents (courtesy of EMRA).
Procedural sedation is a unique skill that is frequently utilized by Emergency Medicine (EM) trained physicians. Depending on the indication and patient’s clinical status, it can be both stressful and time consuming, but ultimately a procedure that must be mastered to facilitate safe and effective care for our patients. Let’s start with the basic steps and setup and finish with some article reviews.
Kathryn McGregor, MD; Taylor Wahrenbrock, MD; Eric Leser, MD
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Figure 1. Index ECG.
A 63-year-old male with a past medical history of epilepsy, hypertension, and papillary thyroid carcinoma s/p left hemithyroidectomy presents with nausea and vomiting. The patient reports that, around 2:00 AM, he woke up from his sleep and began sweating and vomiting. These symptoms have continued intermittently since then, and the patient presents with his wife around 5:00 PM. He reports epigastric discomfort but denies any fevers, chills, chest pain, palpitations, or shortness of breath.
Taylor Wahrenbrock, MD; Michael Hohl, MD; Ari Edelheit, MD
Read MoreInfluenza A is frequently a big culprit of respiratory illness during the winter months. Inevitably, the question often arrives from consultants, attendings, or colleagues at sign-out, “Did they get Tamiflu?” This is often met with a variety of responses and debates regarding its efficacy at times. However, what does the literature actually say regarding the use of Tamiflu?
Kathryn McGregor, MD and Eric Leser, MD
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