Apr 29, 2024
Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD
Educational Pearls:
-
Lorazepam (Ativan) is dosed at 0.1 mg/kg up to a maximum of 4 mg in status epilepticus
-
Some ED protocols only give 2 mg initially
-
The maximum recommended dose of levetiracetam (Keppra) is 60 mg/kg or 4.5 g
-
In one retrospective study, only 50% of patients...
Apr 22, 2024
Contributor: Travis Barlock MD
Educational Pearls:
Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist with a wide variety of uses in the emergency department. To dose ketamine remember the numbers 0.3, 1, and 3.
Pain dose
-
For acute pain relief administer 0.3 mg/kg of ketamine IV over 10-20 minutes (max of 30 mg).
-
Note: There...
Apr 15, 2024
Contributor: Travis Barlock MD
Educational Pearls:
-
Thrombolytic therapy (tPA or TNK) is often used in the ED for strokes
-
Use of anticoagulants with INR > 1.7 or PT >15
-
Warfarin will reliably increase the INR
-
Current use of Direct thrombin inhibitor or Factor Xa inhibitor
-
aPTT/PT/INR are insufficient...
Apr 10, 2024
Contributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD
Educational Pearls:
-
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome,” is a temporary heart condition that can mimic the symptoms of a heart attack, including troponin elevations and mimic STEMI on ECG.
-
The exact cause is not fully understood, but it is often triggered...
Apr 1, 2024
Contributor: Ricky Dhaliwal MD
Educational Pearls:
-
Primary adrenal insufficiency (most common risk factor for adrenal crises)
-
An autoimmune condition commonly known as Addison's Disease
-
Defects in the cells of the adrenal glomerulosa and fasciculata result in deficient glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids