Welcome back to Papers of the Month. February holds a diverse number of topics on some really interesting areas of practice. We kick off with a snap shot systematic review from the Annals of Emergency Medicine on the effect of Amiodarone or Lignocaine on the outcome from refractory VF or VT arrests, are drugs losing more favour yet again in cardiac arrest. Next up is a pilot study following the surgical theme of minimal intervention for appendicitis, can antibiotics safely be used in a particula...
Feb 01, 2017•27 min
Those of us who are a bit longer in the tooth have spent most of our careers not scanning everyone who sustained a head injury on warfarin, but in 2104 NICE published guidance suggesting we do just that. At times, with the huge burden we place on our radiology services, it is difficult not think we're over doing things with all of these scan requests, especially when the patient has no adverse symptoms or signs. Fortunately the AHEAD study has just been published which looks at thousands of pati...
Jan 16, 2017•17 min
A lot of our podcasts have focussed on prognostic factors in arrest to help with the decision making of continuing or stopping resuscitation in cardiac arrest. There would appear to be a huge variety in practice as to when resuscitation is ceased, and in that way having explicit guidance to unify practice can at times seem appealing. In this episode we have a look at a recent paper covering the topic, it suggests a group of patients accounting for nearly half of cardiac arrests, that upon recogn...
Jan 14, 2017•18 min
Happy New Year!!! The publishing world seems to have wound down a bit for the festive break, but 4 papers caught out eye that can add some further context to practice in the Resus Room. Firstly we take a look at two papers looking at the conversion from non-shockable to shockable rhythms in cardiac arrest, both the likelihood and the associated prognosis. Next up we have a look at a paper focussing on Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC's) and their reliability as an outcome for studies. Lastly...
Jan 01, 2017•30 min
As the years tick by our healthcare systems work harder and harder to ensure that acute coronary syndromes are picked up as they present to our Emergency Departments, the evolution of high sensitivity troponins and their application have been key to this. The utility of a test however is dependant upon it's application to the appropriate patient. In a heavily burdened system it can at times seem sensible to front load tests and 'add on a troponin' before we are even sure the history is consisten...
Dec 15, 2016•16 min
So my talk at the ICS SOA 2016 conference on whether ED should be allowed to intubate certainly provoked some discussion, which was fortunate as it was the purpose of the talk! If you haven't listened to it yet, stop listening to this and have a listen to the talk here first. In this quick debrief between Rob and myself we have a think about the feedback and where to go from here. We'd love to hear any feedback in the comments section at the webpage at www.TheResusRoom.co.uk Simon...
Dec 10, 2016•9 min
RSI delivered by EM clinicians is common place throughout the globe, in the UK however it still seems a contentious topic, with recent data showing only 20% of ED RSIs being performed by EM clinicians. I was lucky enough to be asked to talk at the ICS SoA 2016 conference on the topic of EM doctors carrying out RSI's in the UK and this podcast is a copy of that talk. I hope it provides some context both to UK practitioners and also to those from other countries, who may not understand what the bi...
Dec 05, 2016•23 min
Welcome to December's Papers of the month where we'll be looking at the papers recently published that have caught our eye. First up, what happens when clinicians override clinical decision rules for PE? Are we better than the the rules? Next we have a look at a review article that runs through the back ground literature on subsegmental PE's, their diagnosis and management. And finally we have a look at a paper that helps to benchmark ED airway management with regards first pass success rate. Ou...
Dec 01, 2016•28 min
Patients frequently present to the Emergency Department either with direct concern following an upper gastro intestinal bleed, or with a history that points towards the diagnosis. When these patients are haemodynamically unstable or with ongoing high volume bleeding the decision to admit or discharge becomes simple. But when the episode has settled, deciding whether they are safe to be discharged and continue with outpatient follow up can be difficult. Lots of us use scoring systems such as the ...
Nov 17, 2016•19 min
It's never long before the topic of pulmonary embolism makes it back into the controversial lime light and a recent paper on the association of PE with syncope is the lastest reason. The PESIT trial, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine certainly grabs your attention when you read the abstract, with the implication that PE's are a major and hugely missed cause of the presentation of syncope. It also highlights a diagnostic work up that consists of blanket Well's scoring +/- d-di...
Nov 10, 2016•20 min
This month the literature seems to be focussed on cardiac arrest In this podcast we'll cover a paper looking at the significance of chest compression rate, ultrasound for prognostication (and to a lesser extent identification of tamponade) and finally a systematic review and meta-analysis of PCI following ROSC. The PCI paper follows on nicely from our previous podcast on the topic , so make sure you have a listen to that one first. Our sponsors ADPRAC are giving away another £30 iTunes voucher t...
Nov 01, 2016•29 min
Stroke thrombolysis has definitely put the spotlight back on to the topic of stroke over the last few years. Stroke thrombolysis has led to restructuring of stroke care in the UK and has helped drive investment in stroke care. The evidence base that underpins thrombolysis has been controversial to say the least and can be difficult to comprehend. Review article: Why is there still a debate regarding the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis in the management of presumed acute ischaemic...
Oct 22, 2016•17 min
Risk assessment, testing and risk management form the very heart of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. Being aware of the evidence surrounding a topic is key to delivering high level care but without an understanding of the underpinning concepts it's application is extremely limited. Understanding how a test result changes a patient's likelihood of a disease can be described with likelihood ratios, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has a podcast explaining likelihood ratios in more deta...
Oct 11, 2016•15 min
This month we cover a paper looking at the role of early craniectomy for raised intracranial pressure, the outcomes associated with advanced airway managements in prehospital cardiac arrest and lastly at the utility on ETCO2 and consider if it's application decreases adverse respiratory events. This month our great sponsors ADPRAC our giving away a £30 iTunes voucher to spend on education/entertainment to support your work life balance! All you need to do is click the link on our home page throu...
Oct 01, 2016•29 min
This week the British Thoracic Society have released an updated version of their guidelines on asthma. The document covers all aspects from diagnosis, treatment and follow up, in this podcast we briefly run through some of the aspects covered in the acute management section. Make sure you have a look at the full document that can be found here https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinical-information/asthma/btssign-asthma-guideline-2016/ Speak to you soon!...
Sep 29, 2016•10 min
In 2014 NICE updated their guidelines on Head Injury: assessment and early management . This included specific guidance for those patients on warfarin Guidance regarding the ongoing observation of these patients is not contained within the guideline but as with much of Emergency Medicine variation between departments and regions vary in the threshold to admit patients with a normal CT head due to concerns of these patients developing a delayed bleed. A recent systematic review and meta analysis ...
Sep 15, 2016•15 min
Here's a look at some of the papers that caught our eye this month. We cover a paper looking at the the potential benefits of ketofol over propofol for conscious sedation, the role of aggressive blood pressure reduction in haemorrhage stroke and finally a really interesting paper of PE thrombolysis in cardiac arrest. This month our great sponsors ADPRAC our giving away a £50 iTunes voucher to spend on education/entertainment for you to spend on supporting your work life balance! All you need to ...
Sep 01, 2016•25 min
Where does the role of a chest X-ray lie in major trauma? With the ever increasing use of CT and ultrasound in the resus room what role does the old school CXR hold? How many injuries will it pick up? How many will it miss? And when is the extra delay justified? This podcast looks at a recent paper on the topic and some related national guidelines. Enjoy! References Prevalence and Clinical Import of Thoracic Injury Identified by Chest Computed Tomography but Not Chest Radiography in Blunt Trauma...
Aug 22, 2016•17 min
Burns are a common presentation to the ED and can result in a significant degree or morbidity and mortality. In this podcast we talk through the approach and treatment of burns along with some controversies in the literature regarding assessment of burn depth and fluid management. Enjoy! References The Parkland formula under fire: is the criticism justified? Blumetti J, et al. J Burn Care Res. 2008 Jan-Feb. Mersey Burns for calculating fluid resuscitation volume when managing burns: NICE advice ...
Aug 10, 2016•31 min
Here's a look at some of the papers that caught our eye this month. In this podcast we cover a paper looking at the significance of findings with the history, physical exam and imaging in subarachnoid haemorrhage to inform your work up. We look at another paper focussing on total body versus selective CT scanning in trauma and lastly a paper looking at the validation of the DECAF score to predict mortality in COPD exacerbations. We've also got the e book 'ABC of Emergency Radiology' to give away...
Aug 01, 2016•32 min
If you've had an MI with a STEMI or a new LBBB the decision to go to the cath lab is pretty straight forward. If you've collapsed with a cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac aetiology (the majority of them) and gained a ROSC (return in spontaneous circulation) then the decision to go the the lab immediately is pretty variable and can depend of the clinicians involved, the ECG or the system within which you work. The Resus Council and the European Society of Cardiology have some guidance on the top...
Jul 25, 2016•23 min
I haven't always read papers and with the time pressures of training and life it's impossible for us to be on top of all of the literature. But over the last few years I've come across some papers that I wish others had told me about. For some of you this will all be a recap but for others hopefully it will spark an interest and get you to have a look at the papers yourself. We all know that it is extremely rare that one paper alone will or should change our practice but hopefully it's the inter...
Jul 20, 2016•24 min
So the long awaited new NICE Guidelines on Sepsis have just been released. I'm no sepsis expert, I'm not on a panel involved with the guidelines but I am someone who is going to be trying to use these guidelines everyday at work with multiple patients and I'm not the only one....we all are! In this podcast we run through some of the main points brought up in the new guidelines. Talk about some potential difficulties and join toward some useful resources such as the brilliant flow charts develope...
Jul 13, 2016•19 min
We have a look at papers covering platelet transfusions for patients on antiplatelets who suffer intracerebral bleeds, the optimal dose for procedural sedation with ketamine in children, a new meta-analysis on the sensitivity of early CT in suspected sub arachnoid haemorrhage and finish up with an amazing case report regarding a hypothermic cardiac arrest Make sure you go and have a look at the papers yourself to see what the evidence means to you. Optimal dosing of intravenous ketamine for proc...
Jul 01, 2016•36 min
Sedation is becoming an ever more significant part of our work in the Emergency Department. At the end of May 2016 the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Published the RCEM Sedation Audit of 2015-2016 that covered more than 8,000 ED sedations throughout the UK (involving more than 190 ED's). There are some pearls to take out of this great piece of work in which there would seem to be some significant scope to improve. The document not only benchmarks our practice but helps give us a feel for th...
Jun 17, 2016•18 min
Carbon Monoxide poisoning is definitely one of those differentials that you consider when the patients books into ED with '?carbon monoxide poisoning'...... but how much do we really think about it in a patient that hasn't been sent down to the ED with this specific thought in mind? Rob Fenwick talks us through the key points of Carbon Monoxide poisoning and some recent evidence on the topic which will probably make us consider the possibility a bit more frequently! This podcast was based around...
Jun 12, 2016•14 min
For June we have a look at papers covering CT head imaging in delayed trauma presentations, risk stratifying TIAs, early administration of fluids in severe sepsis and most importantly the utility of a biro in a surgical airway....... Make sure you go and have a look at the papers yourself to see what the evidence means to you. References Validation of ABCD2 scores ascertained by referring clinicians: a retrospective transient ischaemic attack clinic cohort study. Dutta D. Emerg Med J. 2016 Apr 7...
Jun 01, 2016•26 min
Here's a look at some of the papers that caught our eye this month. We have a look at patient positioning for RSI, the implication of hypothermia on arrival in the ED and the reliability of clinical assessment of syncope in our elderly patients. Make sure you go and have a look at the papers yourself to see what the evidence means to you. Head-Elevated Patient Positioning Decreases Complications of Emergent Tracheal Intubation in the Ward and Intensive Care Unit. Khandelwal N. Anesth Analg. 2016...
May 15, 2016•17 min
So this is a talk I gave at the EMCEF 22 conference. This covers a few of the papers we've discussed in the last 6 months on the podcast but a bit of spaced repetition is never a bad thing! We'll be running through topics on heart failure, sedation, intubation, anaphylaxis and duration of cardiac arrest. The papers are well worth a look and whilst not all high quality evidence they do bring to the front some really interesting questions about are practice and prompt us to challenge our habits. E...
May 04, 2016•33 min
In this episode we were lucky enough to catch up with Sam Sadek, EM Consultant at The Royal London hospital and HEMS doctor and also Zaf Qasim EM Consultant in Delaware in the United States. Both have been heavily involved in the setup and delivery of REBOA service in their respective posts. In this podcast they share their experience and expertise on the topic of setting up a REBOA service. A huge thanks to both of them as this is a superb podcast for anybody considering getting involved in REB...
Apr 24, 2016•51 min
