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....
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Episode 975: Nursemaid's Elbow
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: What is a Nursemaid's Elbow? A condition in which an elbow gets partially pulled out of place (a radial head subluxation) Usually happens in kids under 5 because the ligaments around their elbow are still loose. A common situation is when an adult pulls a child up by the hand or swings them by the arms. The sudden tug causes the radius to slip out of its normal spot at the elbow joint. How are they identified? These don’t normally need an xray The child will often hold their arm close to their side and refuse to use it There’s usually no...
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Episode 974: ACE Inhibitor Angioedema
Emergency Medical Minute
Contributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD Educational Pearls: Angioedema in anaphylaxis Histamine and mast cell-mediated pathway Treatment: First line: epinephrine for vasoconstriction and bronchodilation Second line: H1 and H2 antihistamines such as Benadryl and famotidine ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema Different pathway from anaphylaxis ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema is mediated by bradykinins Therefore, anaphylaxis medications are not beneficial in patients with ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema Leading cause of drug-induced angioedema in the US Patients most commonly present with...
info_outlineContributor: 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 hemorrhage
- No intraventricular hemorrhage
- Monitor for 6 hours
- No need to repeat the head CT
- No need to consult neurosurgery
BIG 2
- Normal neuro exam
- Not on anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications
- Any of the following
- Intoxicated
- Slightly more findings on head CT
- Non-displaced skull fracture
- 4-8 mm bleed (subdural, epidural, intraparenchymal (max two locations))
- Maximum of “localized” subarachnoid hemorrhage
- No intraventricular hemorrhage
- Hospitalize
- No need to transfer
- No need to repeat the head CT
- No need to consult neurosurgery
BIG 3
- Abnormal neuro exam
- On anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications
- Intoxicated
- Significant findings on head CT
- Displaced skull fracture
- >8 mm bleed (subdural, epidural, intraparenchymal (or more than 2 locations))
- “Scattered” subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Intraventricular hemorrhage
- Full treatment, admission to trauma center, neurosurgery evaluation
References
- Joseph B, Friese RS, Sadoun M, Aziz H, Kulvatunyou N, Pandit V, Wynne J, Tang A, O'Keeffe T, Rhee P. The BIG (brain injury guidelines) project: defining the management of traumatic brain injury by acute care surgeons. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014 Apr;76(4):965-9. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000000161. PMID: 24662858.
- Joseph B, Obaid O, Dultz L, Black G, Campbell M, Berndtson AE, Costantini T, Kerwin A, Skarupa D, Burruss S, Delgado L, Gomez M, Mederos DR, Winfield R, Cullinane D; AAST BIG Multi-institutional Study Group. Validating the Brain Injury Guidelines: Results of an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma prospective multi-institutional trial. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2022 Aug 1;93(2):157-165. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003554. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35343931.
Summarized by Jeffrey Olson, MS4 | Edited by Jeffrey Olson and Jorge Chalit, OMS4
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