EMDocs

OCTOBER 21, 2023

We’ll keep it short, while you keep that EM brain sharp. The NIHSS cutoff that predicts outcomes is 4 points higher in AC compared with PC infarctions. Median time from ED arrival to diagnosis was 8 hours 24 min in one study, with only 19% being diagnosed within the 4.5-hour Post TW, ed. hour IV thrombolytic window.

EMS 73

EMS ALS OR ACS 73

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 25, 2024

EMS arrived and found him in Ventricular Fibrillation (VF). The patient was brought to the ED and had this ECG recorded: What do you think? Then assume there is ACS. They started CPR. He was defibrillated into VT. He then underwent dual sequential defibrillation into asystole. After 1 mg of epinephrine they achieved ROSC.

Defibrillator 110

Defibrillator Coronary Epinephrine ACS 110

EMS 12-Lead

JUNE 20, 2022

According to the EMS narrative, this patient initially refused hospital transport and advised that he would seek evaluation at a later time with his personal physician. According to the EMS narrative, this patient initially refused hospital transport and advised that he would seek evaluation at a later time with his personal physician.

ACS 130

ACS Coronary STEMI CAD 130

EMDocs

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

However, RSI has never been shown to reduce the risk of aspiration in the ED (13) or during emergent OR cases (14). While RSI should remain the gold standard in the vast majority of patients in the ED, FI presents an additional technique to mitigate anatomic or physiologic risk. To date, ketamine has been the agent of choice (12).

ED 65

ED Emergency Department ALS Paramedic 65

Emergency Medicine Cases

JULY 30, 2019

In the age of high sensitivity troponins and the HEART pathway, which patients are safe to discharge home from the ED? What are the most useful historical factors to increase and decrease your pretest probability for ACS? Which cardiac risk factors have predictive value for ACS?

ACS 130

ACS ED OR EMS 130

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Guest Skeptic: Dr. Stephen Meigher is the EM Chief Resident training with the Jacobi and Montefiore Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program. Guest Skeptic: Dr. Stephen Meigher is the EM Chief Resident training with the Jacobi and Montefiore Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program. The TOMAHAWK Investigators.

EMR 130

EMR Coronary Defibrillator Life Support 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 3, 2024

But this time the Queen gets it wrong (thinks it is not OMI): There were runs of VT: Tha patient arrived in profound shock and had an ED ECG: Now there is some evolution to include the ST elevation (rather than ST depression) in V4-V6. RBBB + LAFB in the setting of ACS is very bad. Posterior and high lateral OMI. Learning Points: 1.

ACS 114

ACS ED Coronary EMS 114

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

Written by Pendell Meyers A man in his 40s called EMS for acute chest pain that awoke him from sleep, along with nausea and shortness of breath. Because the most severe LAD OMIs can cause ischemic failure of the RBB and LAF, any patient with ACS symptoms and new RBBB and LAFB with any concordant STE has LAD OMI until proven otherwise.

STEMI 116

STEMI EMS ACS ED 116

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

EMS arrived and recorded this ECG: What do you think? The ECG was transmitted to the Emergency Medicine physician who recognized inferior and posterior OMI findings, and confirmed that the patient has potential ACS symptoms. Here is her ECG on arrival to the ED: Improved, but still some signal of posterior OMI.

STEMI 81

STEMI OR ED EMS 81

ACEP Now

JUNE 6, 2023

Notoriously elusive, with a high misdiagnosis rate, thoracic aortic dissection (AD) can mimic many conditions, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS, the most common), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stroke, and spinal-cord compression. The patient is admitted for ACS to a cardiologist who says he will see the patient in the morning.

ACS 85

ACS ALS ED OR 85

EMS 12-Lead

APRIL 14, 2022

He presented to EMS with extreme pallor, Levine sign, diaphoresis, bilateral arm pain, and an apprehensive sense of doom. It should be emphasized here that this is a presentation of high-pretest probability for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). In the case of ACS, the ECG can rapidly change from this. ECG's are difficult.

ACS 130

ACS Paramedic Coronary ALS 130

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

MAY 28, 2022

AEM May 2022 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Justin Morgenstern is an emergency physician and the creator of the #FOAMed project called First10EM.com Case: A 33-year-old male presents to the emergency department (ED) complaining of abdominal pain. He doesn’t have any specific symptoms today, including no fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or urinary symptoms.

Emergency Department 100

Emergency Department ACS ALS Coronary 100

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 17, 2024

Pain improved to 1/10 after EMS administers 324 mg aspirin and the following EKG is obtained at triage. showed that , when T-waves are inverted in precordial leads, if they are also inverted in lead III and V1, then pulmonary embolism is far more likely than ACS. looked at consecutive patients with PE, ACS, or neither.

E-9-1-1 137

E-9-1-1 ACS Emergency Department Coronary 137

EMS 12-Lead

JULY 30, 2023

David Didlake, FF/EMT-P, AG-ACNP @DidlakeDW An elder female presented to the ED with worsening shortness of breath. This should prompt immediate investigation into supply-demand mismatching, or ACS. She was known to have a history of poorly controlled COPD, AFib, and multivessel coronary disease.

EMT 130

EMT EMT ACS Coronary 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 20, 2024

This was sent by an undergraduate (not yet in medical school, but applying now) who works as an ED technician (records all EKGs, helps with procedures, takes vital signs) and who reads this blog regularly. He called EMS, who arrived on scene about two hours after the onset of pain to find him hypertensive at 220 systolic.

CAD 123

CAD STEMI Coronary ACS 123

EMS 12-Lead

JULY 24, 2023

David Didlake Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Firefighter / Paramedic (ret) @DidlakeDW Expert commentary and peer review by Dr. Steve Smith [link] @smithECGBlog A 57 y/o Female with PMHx HTN, HLD, DM, and current use of tobacco products, presented to the ED with chest discomfort. A 12 Lead ECG was captured on her arrival.

Coronary 130

Coronary ACS CAD ED 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

AUGUST 11, 2024

The machine indicated STEMI (but it barely meets STEMI criteria, if at all) and the patient was brought to the ED: On arrival 20 minutes later the pain had reduced to 1/10 after aspirin, and the patient had repeat ECG at triage: Now the ST segments and T waves have normalized, and the only abnormality is sinus bradycardia and loss of R waves.

STEMI 74

STEMI Paramedic Coronary EMS 74

ACEP Now

MARCH 14, 2024

A 44 year-old male with unknown past medical history came by emergency medical services (EMS) to the emergency department (ED) for an electrical injury and fall from a high voltage electrical pole. Per EMS, the patient was found at the bottom of a high voltage line with diffuse burns and amputation of his left forearm.

Operating Room 52

Operating Room ACS Critical Care Coronary 52

EMDocs

JUNE 27, 2024

An 8-year old male with a history of sickle cell anemia presents to the ED for evaluation of fever for 2 days and “feeling like I can’t get a full breath”. 768: Epidemiology of Hospital Based ED Visits due to Sickle Cell Crisis and Acute Chest Syndrome in Kids. Sundd P, Gladwin MT, Novelli EM. C or 100.4 mg/kg, max 0.4

E-9-1-1 75

E-9-1-1 ICU ACS EMS 75

EMS 12-Lead

APRIL 8, 2022

He reported to EMS a medical history of GERD only. 1] Here is the admitting ED ECG after cancellation of Code STEMI. V2 – in the final EMS ECG the ST segment was baseline. V3 – in the final EMS ECG the ST segment was still slightly depressed. The patient continued to verbalize cessation of symptoms while in the ED.

STEMI 130

STEMI ALS Coronary CAD 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 2, 2024

He was unidentified and there were no records available After 7 shocks, he was successfully defibrillated and brought to the ED. Bedside ED ultrasound showed exceedingly poor global LV function, and no B lines. Here is the initial ED ECG. Patient received 11 shocks by ICD and was in V-fib when EMS arrived.

Defibrillator 128

Defibrillator Coronary Epinephrine CPR 128

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

MAY 29, 2021

The patient is an adult male with a gunshot wound to the chest, and they’re combative with emergency medical services (EMS). According to a recent study in the Journal of Surgical Research [3] , 44% of all penetrating thoracic trauma patients presented to a non-trauma center (not a level 1 or level 2 ACS defined trauma center).

Emergency Medical Services 130

Emergency Medical Services ACS ALS Emergency Department 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Here is the first ED ECG recorded, now pain free after sublingual Nitro: There is what appears to be a reperfusion T-wave in I and aVL. EMS arrived — and recorded 2 ECGs. The 3rd tracing in Figure-1 was the initial ED ECG — obtained at a time when the patient's CP had resolved. 14 minutes later — ECG #2 was recorded by EMS.

E-9-1-1 107

E-9-1-1 Coronary EMS ED 107

Don't Forget the Bubbles

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Children often spend many hours in the emergency department (ED) before being sent home or admitted. The average waiting time for the first assessment was only a few minutes shorter when going through the ED. Still, treatment initiation was significantly faster (up to one hour) than admission through the ED. Soll RF, Edwards EM.

ALS 52

ALS Emergency Department ED ACS 52

EMS 12-Lead

JUNE 1, 2022

EMS finds him supine, alert and oriented, and without any gross distress. He advises, however, recurrent syncopal episodes for the past six months, some of which have resulted in ED admission, yet no identifying mechanism could be determined. Chou’s Electrocardiography in Clinical Practice (6th ed). References [1] Surawicz, B.

Coronary 130

Coronary ALS Firefighter ACS 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

A man in his 70s with past medical history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, CAD s/p left circumflex stent 2 years prior presented to the ED with worsening intermittent exertional chest pain relieved by rest. In our opinion it should not be given in ACS unless you are committed to the cath lab. He was diagnosed as NSTEMI.

ACS 83

ACS Coronary ALS CAD 83

Don't Forget the Bubbles

MAY 17, 2023

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. Hegeman EM, et al. Schwindt EM, et al. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. De Alwis AC, et al. 2023 Apr 20:fetalneonatal-2022-324835. Osteomyelitis in Sickle Cell Anemia: Does Age Predict Risk of Salmonella Infection? Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2023 Apr 18. Eur J Pediatr. 2023 Apr 19.

ALS 72

ALS ACS Emergency Department EMS 72

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2022

He reportedly told his family "I think I'm having a heart attack", then they immediately drove him to the ED, and he was able to ambulate into the triage area before he collapsed and became unresponsive. CPR was initiated immediately. It was reportedly a PEA arrest; there was no recorded V Fib and no defibrillation.

ACS 52

ACS CPR CAD Heart Attack 52

REBEL EM

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Background Information: Atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate (RVR) is one of the many tachydysrhythmias we encounter in the Emergency Department (ED). The average time to control HR in the IV amiodarone was 1.7h, which is usually the average time for disposition from the ED. Paper: Mason JM, et al.

Emergency Department 52

Emergency Department ALS Critical Care ED 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 14, 2023

Sent by Anonymous, written by Pendell Meyers A man in his 60s with history of CAD and 2 prior stents presented to the ED complaining of acute heavy substernal chest pain that began while eating breakfast about an hour ago, and had been persistent since then, despite EMS administering aspirin and nitroglycerin.

CAD 52

CAD ACS STEMI Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 13, 2020

A 60-something man presented by EMS with 5 hours of fairly typical sounding substernal chest pain. Here is the EMS ECG: Obviously massive diffuse subendocardial ischemia, with profound STD and STE in aVR Of course this pattern is most often seen from etoliogies other than ACS.

Coronary 52

Coronary ACS EMS STEMI 52

EMDocs

AUGUST 17, 2023

Welcome back to the “52 in 52” series. This collection of posts features recently published must-know articles. Today we look at the CENSER trial. vs 48.4% (OR 3.4, 5.53) Takeaways: Positive trial => there was a statistically significant rate of shock control attained with the treatment arm. vs 48.4% (OR 3.4,

Overdose 66

Overdose ACS Critical Care OR 66

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 12, 2024

With EMS, patient had a GCS of 3 and was saturating 60% on room air. He improved to 100% with the addition of non-rebreather, however remained altered and was intubated by EMS with ketamine and succinylcholine. EKG on arrival to the ED is shown below: What do you think? or basilar ischemia. Version 2 = 0.0272.

STEMI 98

STEMI Coronary Emergency Department OR 98

EMDocs

JULY 19, 2023

This would be a send-out test and would be unlikely to help us acutely in the ED. 7 We are commonly taught that metals are not amenable to treatment with activated charcoal (AC).However, She first noticed herself bumping into walls but attributed it to being absent-minded or not paying enough attention to where she was going.

ACS 65

ACS Plasma OR ED 65

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2023

EMS obtained the following vital signs: pulse 50, respiratory rate 16, blood pressure 96/49. It appears EMS obtained two EKGs, but unfortunately these were not saved in the medical record. The EMS crew was only BLS certified, so EKG interpretation is not within their scope of practice. After all, there is no S wave in lead V3.

E-9-1-1 119

E-9-1-1 Coronary ACS BLS 119

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Submitted by Benjamin Garbus, MD with edits by Bracey, Meyers, and Smith A man in his early 30s presented to the ED with chest pain described as an “explosion" of left chest pressure. Today’s pain lasted around 20 mins, but was severe enough that the patient called EMS. There is no age cut-off for ACS. 1] Wereski, R.,

OR 52

OR ACS STEMI Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 9, 2023

Submitted by Ali Khan MD and James Mantas MD, MS, written by Pendell Meyers A man in his 50s with history of diabetes, hypertension, and tobacco use presented to the ED with 24 hours of worsening left sided chest pain radiating to the back, characterized as squeezing and pinching, associated with shortness of breath.

ACS 52

ACS ED OR EMS 52