Monthly Archives: May 2012

BASIC KETAMINE INFUSION ANAESTHESIA

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Thomas D

We’ve previously mentioned total ketamine anaesthesia in our post on war surgery, using a simple i.v. drip. Today, I talked to a friend and colleague of mine with extensive experience from MSF (Médecins sans frontières – Doctors without borders). Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Prehospital Medicine | 6 Comments

THE SCANCRIT MANOEUVRE

Posted on May 30, 2012 by K

Feeding nasogastric tubes into the oesophagus can in some sedated or comatose patient’s be surprisingly hard or even impossible. One method I found works almost every time is reaching deep into the intubated patient´s mouth with two fingers.

Posted in Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine | 7 Comments

LAMOTRIGINE AND KETAMINE

Posted on May 28, 2012 by K

The other day, I was called to the ED to assist in chemically controlling one of our psychiatric usual suspects who had been admitted with her customary friday night OD. This time she had ingested an unknown amount of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Emergency Medicine, Toxicology | 3 Comments

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT – PRESENTATIONS

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Thomas D

4 things every speaker owes their audience: Tell me something new. Don’t read from a script. Don’t read from your slides. Speak from your heart. – Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. @ 33 Charts The 4 rules from Bryan’s excellent, concise post … Continue reading →

Posted in Medical teaching | 1 Comment

THE RESCUEBASKET

Posted on May 25, 2012 by K

There are several methods for hoisting a patient into a helicopter, ranging from stretcher systems to simple slings. They all affect the respiration and hemodynamics to varying degrees, which has resulted in some serious incidents with injuries or death as … Continue reading →

Posted in SAR, Trauma, Wilderness Medicine | Leave a comment

YOU CAN’T FIND THE CRICOID

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Thomas D

So, you know how to do a cricothyrotomy. But can you find the right place to make the incision? It turns out, many times, you can’t. Especially if the patient is female and obese.

Posted in Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine | 2 Comments

RETRACTION WATCH

Posted on May 22, 2012 by K

One of the most fascinating blogs at the moment is Retraction Watch. A blog about fraud and corruption in life sciences and medical research and publications. My favourite post so far is this one. Cheeky bastards… It is fair to say that … Continue reading →

Posted in Medical teaching, Research and publishing | Leave a comment

EMERGENCY BURR HOLES

Posted on May 20, 2012 by K

Expanding epidural and subdural hematomas present a challenge for the docs working in rural or smaller hospitals. Most of us don’t have the training or equipment to perform the potentially lifesaving decompression. An article in Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and … Continue reading →

Posted in Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care, Neurology, Trauma | 1 Comment

E-MERGENCY MEDICINE

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Thomas D

Emphasizing the importance of information and information sharing. Find your way on the web. Explore, learn, teach, discuss. Graham Walker, an emergency physician at Stanford, did this great presentation at Stanford Grand Rounds, talking about the internet, medical blogs, social … Continue reading →

Posted in Medical teaching | 4 Comments

FAT CANADIAN KIDS

Posted on May 18, 2012 by K

In paediatric emergencies we need to quickly estimate the childs weight. We need to know the weight in order to calculate drug doses, tube sizes, defibrillation energies and what not. We have various formulas of which (age x 3)+7 is likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Emergency Medicine, Paediatrics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment