Emergency Medical Minute

Podcast 1029: Kidney Stone Size

Podcast 1028: POCUS Before Cath in Pediatric Patients

Podcast 1027: Oculocardiac Reflex

Podcast 1026: Esophageal Balloon Tamponade Devices

Esophageal balloon tamponade serves as a critical salvage therapy for patients experiencing massive, uncontrolled hematemesis when definitive treatments like endoscopy or surgery are unavailable. Medical professionals utilize three primary devices—the Linton, Blakemore, and Minnesota tubes—to achieve hemostasis through...

Podcast 1025: Post intubation Sedation

Post-intubation care requires proactive planning for sedation and hemodynamic stability, even in patients who appear deeply obtunded or are post-cardiac arrest. While clinicians may assume unresponsive patients will not retain memories of the procedure, studies indicate that individuals often recall aspects of their re...

Podcast 1024: Caffeine Toxicity

Podcast 1023: Torsades de pointes

A 40-year-old female patient presenting with brief, recurrent syncopal episodes and vomiting in a crowded emergency department waiting room was diagnosed with Torsades de Pointes, a life-threatening polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. An initial EKG revealed a dangerously prolonged QT interval of 650 milliseconds, lea...

Podcast 1022: Emergent Dialysis

Podcast 1021: Pulmonary Edema From Naloxone Administration

Podcast 1020: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) serves as a critical diagnosis in the emergency department to avoid unnecessary imaging and hospital admissions. While posterior canal BPPV accounts for 70% of cases and is identified via the Dix-Hallpike maneuver, horizontal canal BPPV represents 20% and requires the supine ...

Podcast 1019: Trauma Blunt Cardiovascular Injuries (BCVI)

The clinical approach to trauma imaging is shifting toward more frequent use of CT angiograms (CTA) of the neck to identify blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI). While historically reserved for high-mechanism trauma or symptomatic patients, expanded screening aims to detect asymptomatic carotid or vertebral artery dis...

Podcast 1018: Occult Ventricular Fibrillation on Echocardiography

Occult ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) represents a treatable but often overlooked condition in cardiac arrest patients who appear to be in asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA) on a standard monitor. While clinicians traditionally rely on electrocardiogram rhythms to determine if a shock is indicated, point...

Podcast 1017: CPR Hand Placement

Optimizing CPR hand placement is critical for medical professionals to move beyond layperson standards and achieve expert-level resuscitation. While traditional guidelines suggest compressing the sternum or slightly to the left, transesophageal ultrasound studies reveal that a one-centimeter leftward shift often inadve...

Podcast 1016: Hypokalemia

Hypokalemia often stems from diuretic use, gastrointestinal losses, or temporary shifts caused by medications like albuterol. On an EKG, this condition manifests as U-waves or fused TU complexes that prolong cardiac repolarization, increasing the risk for life-threatening arrhythmias such as Torsades de Pointes and V-f...

Podcast 1015: Calcium in Hyperkalemia

Hyperkalemia presents a critical medical emergency where elevated potassium levels threaten to cause cardiac arrest, necessitating a structured three-step treatment approach. Calcium serves as the immediate first-line intervention, available as calcium gluconate for stable patients or calcium chloride for emergent case...

Podcast 1014: Eating and Drinking on Shift

Podcast 1013: Thoracotomy Indications

Emergency thoracotomy serves as a surgical alternative to traditional CPR for trauma patients in cardiac arrest, specifically aimed at identifying and fixing reversible causes of internal bleeding. Clinical success depends heavily on the mechanism of injury and the duration of resuscitation. Penetrating traumas, such a...

Podcast 1012: Meth Sedation

Podcast 1011: Creepy Crawlies

Podcast 1010: First Pass Intubation Success