Episode 984: Fish Hooks
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Megan Hurley, MD Educational Pearls: Assess first: confirm the hook isn’t near vital structures. Automatic subspecialty consult for eye involvement or proximity to carotid artery, radial artery, peritoneum, testicle, or urethra Barbed hook: cannot be pulled back through the entry without disengaging the barb Removal Techniques String-Pull: best for superficial, single-barbed hooks Depress shank and eye of hook to disengage barb and then pull string taut and jerk suddenly along the long axis Can only be used when the hook is in a body part that can be firmly secured so it...
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Episode 983: Head-of-Bed Position in Large Vessel Occlusion Strokes
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: Recent prospective randomized clinical trial assessed optimal head-of-bed positioning in patients with LVO 0º vs. 30º elevation Objective was to determine superiority of the two angles in stability prior to thrombectomy for LVO patients 45 patients randomized to the group with 0° head positioning and 47 patients randomized to the group with 30° head positioning Patients in the 30º group experienced worsening of NIHSS by 2 points or more Patients with head position at 0° showed score stability Hazard ratio 34.40; 95% CI,...
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Episode 982: Epistaxis Management
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Meghan Hurley, MD Educational Pearls: 1. Initial Assessment Start with a physical examination: Determine if the bleed is anterior or posterior. Perform a primary survey: assess airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs). Airway compromise = intubation immediately. If the patient is stable, have them blow out any clots, then re-examine the nares. 2. Topical Medications Anesthetics: provide local anesthesia and pain relief. Lidocaine Tetracaine Vasoconstrictors: reduce bleeding. LET (Lidocaine, Epinephrine, Tetracaine) is ideal because it provides...
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Episode 981: Electrical Burns
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Travis Barlock, MD Educational Pearls: Quick Statistics on Electrical Burns: Electrical burns compose roughly 2 to 9% of all burns that come into emergency departments. The majority of patients who receive electrical burns are male, typically aged 20’s to 30’s, accounting for 80 to 90% of all electrical burn victims. The majority of burns are linked to occupational exposure. The upper extremities are more commonly impacted by electrical burns, accounting for 70 to 90% of entry points into the body during an exposure. What are some of the key considerations in electrical...
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Tox Talks 2025 Recap 1, Digoxin and Beta Blockers
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributors: Preeya Prakash MD, Adam Greenhaw PharmD, Travis Barlock MD, and Jeffrey Olson MS4 In this episode, cardiologist Preeya Prakash and medical student Jeffrey Olson listen in as two cases are presented from EMM’s recent event, Tox Talk 2025. Talk 1- Digoxin Overdose Dr. Adam Greenhaw presents a case of a Digoxin overdose along with many pearls. During the studio listen in, Dr. Prakash helps to answer the questions of: How does digoxin work? Why might a patient still be on digoxin in 2025? What are the EKG findings of digoxin toxicity? Is there any utility in atropine...
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Episode 980: Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG)
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Traumatic Brain Injuries are a frequent complaint in the Emergency Department and have increased in recent years. The American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) has created Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG), in an attempt to categorize brain injuries and the level of treatment they require. They are… BIG 1 Normal neuro exam Not intoxicated Not on anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications Minimal findings on head CT No fracture <4 mm bleed (subdural, epidural, intraparenchymal (max one location)) Maximum of “trace” subarachnoid...
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Episode 979: Oral vs Temporal Thermometers
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: A recent study published in a pediatric journal in April 2025 compared temporal and oral thermometers Paired temperature measurements (temporal and oral temperature within 30 minutes) were obtained from 1,412 pediatric patients 26% of patients had statistically different temporal and oral temperatures The temporal reading was always lower than the oral reading Children less than 12 years old were 2-3x more likely to actually have that statistical difference in temperatures The study also evaluated 1,000 adult patients 36% had a temporal...
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Episode 978: Delusional Parasitosis
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: Delusional parasitosis is a subtype of the psychiatric condition delusional disorder Defined as a fixed, false belief of infestation by parasites or other organisms A somatic type of delusional disorder Primary delusional parasitosis Occurs in the absence of other psychiatric or medical conditions Secondary delusional parasitosis Causes include methamphetamine use disorder, schizophrenia, neurologic diseases, or medical conditions such as thyroid disease Pathophysiology Poorly understood Upregulation of striatal dopamine system is...
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Episode 977: Amyloid Therapy and Stroke-like Events
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is multifactorial, but the most widely suspected mechanism is the amyloid cascade hypothesis: Beta-amyloid proteins accumulate in the central nervous system, forming plaques that impair neuronal function. In recent years, advances have led to the development of targeted therapies with monoclonal antibodies. These drugs: Work by degrading amyloid plaques Slow the rate of cognitive decline and disease progression Have major side effects, most notably the development of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities...
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Episode 976: Improvised Burr Hole in an Epidural Hematoma
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Alec Coston, MD Case Report Summary: A 17-year-old female involved in a motor vehicle collision presented to a rural emergency facility via personally operated vehicle. During workup and initial CT scan, the patient began rapidly decompensating with CT revealing a 1.5cm epidural hematoma with 7mm of midline shift. The patient went from being able to walk and talk to being obtunded with a blown left pupil and unresponsive. Following intubation, the patient was being prepared for transport but potential delays required immediate emergency evacuation of the hematoma via a Burr Hole....
info_outlineContributor: Meghan Hurley MD
Educational Pearls:
What is ATLS?
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Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) is a systematic and comprehensive approach to the evaluation and management of trauma patients
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It was developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS)
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The key components include the Primary Survey ("ABCDE"), the Secondary Survey, Definitive Care, and Special Considerations
What are the issues with ATLS?
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ATLS relies on many algorithms and rules-of-thumb, which might be helpful for individuals with basic skills and training but might actually present obstacles for those with higher levels of training. Dr. Hurley cites several examples.
Example 1: ABC approach to trauma patients
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ABC stands for Airway, Breathing, and Circulation but focusing on the airway first is not always the best decision.
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Immediate attention may need to be applied to massive hemorrhage.
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Intubating a patient that is hemodynamically unstable may cause cardiac arrest.
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A more helpful phrase might be “Resuscitate before you intubate.”
Example 2: C-spine precautions
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Cervical collars may impede the likelihood of first-pass success when intubating. The risk of complications from a failed airway may often outweigh the risk of causing a spinal cord injury.
Example 3:Cutting clothes off.
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The E of ABCDE stands for exposure which means fully undressing the patient to look for missing injuries. This often involves cutting their clothes off.
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This practice might be too broadly applied and leave low-risk trauma patients without any clothes to wear when discharged home.
Example 4: Digital rectal exam
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A rectal exam can be a useful tool in the evaluation of patients with abdominal or pelvic injuries. It can help screen for rectal bleeding, pelvic fractures, and neurological function
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However, the rectal exam is not a sensitive test. A retrospective study from the Indian Journal of Surgery found that a rectal exam missed 100% of urethra injuries, 92% of spinal cord injuries, 93% of small bowel injuries, 100% of colon injuries, and 67% of rectal injuries in trauma patients.
Example 6: Pushing on pelvis for pelvic injuries
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Pushing on the pelvis to check for instability can cause further damage to an unstable pelvis. Imaging the pelvis is far more important than pressing on it if a pelvic fracture is suspected.
Example 7: FAST exam
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A FAST exam, which stands for "Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma," is a rapid ultrasound examination used to assess trauma patients for signs of internal bleeding or organ damage in the abdomen and chest.
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These can be very useful as an initial test to tell a trauma surgeon where to start looking for internal bleeding in an unstable blunt traumatic injury
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If a patient is stable and likely going to get a CT scan whether the FAST is positive or negative then the test is unnecessary
References
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ATLS Subcommittee; American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma; International ATLS working group. Advanced trauma life support (ATLS®): the ninth edition. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2013 May;74(5):1363-6. doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e31828b82f5. PMID: 23609291.
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Bloom BA, Gibbons RC. Focused Assessment With Sonography for Trauma. 2023 Jul 24. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan–. PMID: 29261902.
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Brown R. Oxygenate and Resuscitate Before You Intubate. Common pitfalls to avoid when managing the crashing airway. EMS World. 2016 Jan;45(1):48-50, 52, 54-5. PMID: 26852546.
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Chrimes N, Marshall SD. Attempt XYZ: airway management at the opposite end of the alphabet. Anaesthesia. 2018 Dec;73(12):1464-1468. doi: 10.1111/anae.14361. Epub 2018 Jul 11. PMID: 29998563.
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Docimo S Jr, Diggs L, Crankshaw L, Lee Y, Vinces F. No Evidence Supporting the Routine Use of Digital Rectal Examinations in Trauma Patients. Indian J Surg. 2015 Aug;77(4):265-9. doi: 10.1007/s12262-015-1283-y. Epub 2015 May 19. PMID: 26702232; PMCID: PMC4688269.
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Groeneveld A, McKenzie ML, Williams D. Logrolling: establishing consistent practice. Orthop Nurs. 2001 Mar-Apr;20(2):45-9. doi: 10.1097/00006416-200103000-00011. PMID: 12024634.
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Morgenstern, J. The FAST exam: overused and overrated?, First10EM, August 30, 2021.
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Rodrigues IFDC. To log-roll or not to log-roll - That is the question! A review of the use of the log-roll for patients with pelvic fractures. Int J Orthop Trauma Nurs. 2017 Nov;27:36-40. doi: 10.1016/j.ijotn.2017.05.001. Epub 2017 May 10. PMID: 28797555.
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Sapsford W. Should the 'C' in 'ABCDE' be altered to reflect the trend towards hypotensive resuscitation? Scand J Surg. 2008;97(1):4-11; discussion 12-3. doi: 10.1177/145749690809700102. PMID: 18450202.
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Sundstrøm T, Asbjørnsen H, Habiba S, Sunde GA, Wester K. Prehospital use of cervical collars in trauma patients: a critical review. J Neurotrauma. 2014 Mar 15;31(6):531-40. doi: 10.1089/neu.2013.3094. Epub 2013 Nov 6. PMID: 23962031; PMCID: PMC3949434.
Summarized by Jeffrey Olson MS2 | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMSII