The Skeptics' Guide to EM

JANUARY 18, 2020

Date: January 16th, 2020 Reference: Troponin Testing and Coronary Syndrome in Geriatric Patients With Nonspecific Complaints: Are We Overtesting? Date: January 16th, 2020 Reference: Troponin Testing and Coronary Syndrome in Geriatric Patients With Nonspecific Complaints: Are We Overtesting? Reference: Wang et al.

ACS 130

ACS Coronary Emergency Department ALS 130

EMS 12-Lead

JUNE 20, 2022

One cannot rely on this feature as a means of detecting changes – subtle, or dramatic – for volatile occlusive coronary thrombus. Here is the final ECG just prior to ED transfer. Attached below is the initial ED tracing upon hospital arrival, approximately 25 minutes after the prehospital ECG. No serial ECG’s were recorded.

ACS 130

ACS Coronary STEMI CAD 130

ACEP Now

JULY 7, 2023

emergency departments (EDs), with statistics reporting more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests per year. References Tsao CW, et al. Benjamin EJ, et al. Kimblad H, et al. Sakai T, et al. Kudenchuk PJ, et al. Lee YH, et al. Benjamin EJ, et al. Hajjar K, et al. Circulation.

Defibrillator 98

Defibrillator OR ALS Epinephrine 98

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 22, 2024

It was present on arrival at triage but then resolved before bed placement in the ED. This is a demonstration of how Wellens' is transient OMI : First ED ECG is Wellens' (pain free). Lemkes JS, et al. It is a ssociated with mild dyspnea on exertion. At times the pain does go to his left neck. Am Heart J. 2000;139:430–436.

Coronary 117

Coronary STEMI ED OR 117

EMS 12-Lead

AUGUST 22, 2022

The coronary angiogram revealed no critical stenosis, or acute plaque ulceration. Takotsubo should be a diagnosis of exclusion after angiography reveals no obstructive coronary disease, and repeat Echo displays left ventricular recovery. Chou’s Electrocardiography in Clinical Practice (6th ed). References Chiale, P. Saini, A.,

E-9-1-1 130

E-9-1-1 Coronary ALS ICU 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 10, 2025

The latest is Langlois-Carbonneau et al. Our data corroborate that immediate management of a patient with a normal automated triage ECG reading is not modified by real-time ED physician ECG interpretation." But according to Langlois-Carbonneau et al., Safety and accuracy of the computer interpretation of normal ECGs at triage.

STEMI 89

STEMI OR Coronary Emergency Department 89

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

Thanks in part to rapid bedside diagnosis, the patient was able to avoid emergent coronary angiography. Consider the following: We become attuned to looking for acute coronary occlusion in patients who present with acute symptoms to the ED ( E mergency D epartment ).

E-9-1-1 127

E-9-1-1 Coronary STEMI ALS 127

The Skeptics' Guide to EM

MAY 28, 2022

Date: May 24th, 2022 Reference: Broder et al. Date: May 24th, 2022 Reference: Broder et al. The writing group of GRACE-2 wanted to look at clinically relevant questions to address the care of adult patients with low-risk, recurrent, previously undifferentiated abdominal pain in the ED. Reference: Broder et al.

Emergency Department 100

Emergency Department ACS ALS Coronary 100

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Coronaries were clean. Not OMI with High Confidence Click here to sign up for Queen of Hearts Access We showed that the Queen of Hearts decreases false positive cath lab activations: 1) Published recently in Prehospital Emergency Care Baker PO et al. 2) To be presented at AHA conference in Chicago in 2 weeks: Sharkey SW et al.

E-9-1-1 123

E-9-1-1 Coronary ALS ED 123

EMS 12-Lead

APRIL 14, 2022

It should be emphasized here that this is a presentation of high-pretest probability for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). link] [1] Zachary et al. Utility of the history and physical examination in the detection of Acute Coronary Syndromes in emergency department patients. Chou's Electrocardiography in Clinical Practice, 6th ed.

ACS 130

ACS Paramedic Coronary ALS 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 27, 2024

Old ‘NSTEMI’ A history of coronary artery disease and a stent to the same territory further increases pre-test likelihood of acute coronary occlusion, including in-stent thrombosis. So the patient had a transient acute coronary occlusion that spontaneously reperfused but is at risk for reocclusion. Deutch et al.

STEMI 117

STEMI Coronary ACS ED 117

EMDocs

JULY 1, 2023

A 3-year-old male with no past medical history presents to the ED with one week of daily fevers >102°F associated with four days of rash on the trunk. We’ll keep it short, while you keep that EM brain sharp. Tomisaku Kawasaki, who noticed 50+ similar pediatric presentations between the years 1961 and 1967. C) for the past week.

EMS 91

EMS Coronary ED OR 91

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2023

The commonest causes of MINOCA include: atherosclerotic causes such as plaque rupture or erosion with spontaneous thrombolysis, and non-atherosclerotic causes such as coronary vasospasm (sometimes called variant angina or Prinzmetal's angina), coronary embolism or thrombosis, possibly microvascular dysfunction. This is not the case.

E-9-1-1 127

E-9-1-1 Coronary ACS BLS 127

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 21, 2023

Below is the version standardized by PM Cardio app Meyers interpretation: Findings are specific for posterior (and also likely inferior) wall transmural acute infarction, most likely due to acute coronary occlusion (OMI). Most OMI have a peak Troponin T over 1000 ng/L [reference: Baro R et al. Clinical Cardiology 2019.

STEMI 98

STEMI Coronary Defibrillator EMS 98

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

When the patient arrived in the ED, he was still hypotensive in 70s, slowly improving with EMS fluids. Here is the ED ECG (a photo of the paper printout) What do you think? QOH ( Q ueen O f H earts ) and Dr. Smith's former resident immediately diagnosed acute OMI — but providers in the ED thought the ECG findings "looked old".

EMS 114

EMS CPR ED Coronary 114

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 9, 2013

He arrived in the ED and had this ECG recorded:  There are Wellens' waves, type A (upsloping ST segment then inversion of the terminal part of the T-wave - terminal T-wave inversion, or biphasic T-waves) in V2-V4, and aVL. This male in his 40's had been having intermittent chest pain for one week. de Zwaan C., Janssen J.H.A., de Zwaan C.,

ED 52

ED Coronary ALS STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 5, 2023

Here is his initial ED ECG: What do you think? Then the ED doc would be dependent on that first ECG. It must have re-occluded between the ED and the cath lab) --Lesion was stented. Aside on ECG Research: 20% of Definite diagnostic STEMI (Cox et al.) have perfect coronary flow by the time of angiogram.

STEMI 96

STEMI Coronary ED Ambulance 96

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Note that as many as 7% of patients with acute coronary syndrome have chest pain reproducible on palpation [Lee, Solomon]. which reduces the pre-test probability of acute coronary syndrome by less than 30% [McGee]. Cardiology consult note written around that time documents that "Pain improved with NTG, morphine in ED but still present."

E-9-1-1 130

E-9-1-1 OR Coronary ACS 130

EMDocs

OCTOBER 30, 2023

” – Musings of an American ED resident in July 2022 when US healthcare was affected simultaneously by supply chain issues from GE Healthcare (contrast media) and Abbott Laboratories (Similac baby formula). 3 A study of CT use trends in the ED has shown increasing use of CTs by almost 60% from 2005 to 2013.

E-9-1-1 99

E-9-1-1 Emergency Department ALS CCT 99

EMS 12-Lead

APRIL 2, 2022

He reported a history of ischemic cardiomyopathy with coronary stent placement approximately 10 years prior, but could not recall the specific artery involved. Chou’s Electrocardiography in Clinical Practice, 6th ed. 4] Baranchuk, A, et al. Goldberger’s Clinical Electrocardiography: A Simplified Approach, 9th ed.

ALS 130

ALS STEMI Coronary OR 130

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 23, 2023

But the paramedic and the ED physician in this case did not subscribe to this idea. I have here 38 cases of "Computer Normal" ECGs which were critically abnormal and the vast majority are missed acute coronary occlusions (Missed Acute OMI) and most were recognized by the physician. So this study is worthless and must be ignored.

STEMI 98

STEMI Coronary Paramedic OR 98

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Dr. Smith’s ECG Blog has published a growing list of over 40 cases of ECGs falsely labeled ‘normal’ by the computer which are diagnostic of Occlusion MI, and Smith et al. Smith’s ECG Blog has published a growing list of over 40 cases of ECGs falsely labeled ‘normal’ by the computer which are diagnostic of Occlusion MI, and Smith et al.

STEMI 119

STEMI Emergency Department Coronary OR 119

EMDocs

MARCH 25, 2024

Video 3: Coronary approach to the gallbladder POCUS Findings Sonographically, the gallbladder is situated in the right upper quadrant as an elongated pear-shaped organ on the inferior surface of the liver. Ross M, Brown M, McLaughlin K, et al. Dumbrava BD, Bass GA, Jumean A, et al. Al-Khouja F, Mazumder P, Moeller J, Lahham S.

ALS 98

ALS Coronary Emergency Department ED 98

EMDocs

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

This post will focus on the key parts of the guideline that affect ED evaluation and management. It is reasonable to administer vasodilators (eg, nitrates, phentolamine, calcium channel blockers) for patients with cocaine-induced coronary vasospasm or hypertensive emergencies. Top 10 Take Home Pearls 1. COR 2a, LOE C-LD.

Naloxone 115

Naloxone OR BLS Overdose 115

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 1, 2024

His medical history includes hypertension, a decade-long battle with diabetes, ischemic heart disease, a coronary bypass graft surgery ten years ago, a diagnosis of congestive heart failure for the last five years, and a prior ICD implantation five years ago.

Coronary 112

Coronary EMR STEMI Emergency Department 112

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 7, 2024

They arrived in the ED 30 minutes later to meet the cardiology team, where an ECG was repeated: Again no STEMI criteria, and there has been improvement in the deWinter and swirl pattern. First trop was 7,000ng/L (normal 25% of ‘Non-STEMI’ patients with delayed angiography have the exact same pathology of acute coronary occlusion.

STEMI 66

STEMI Coronary ALS OR 66

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

It was worse on the evening prior to presentation while lying in bed, then recurred and resolved while at rest just prior to arriving in the ED. Here is the first ED ECG, with no pain: Sinus rhythm. It shows that on a 7 day angiogram, only 58% of re-occlusions were symptomatic: Ohman EM, Califf RM, Topol EJ et al. de Wood et al.

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI ALS Emergency Department 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 24, 2019

link] A 30 year-old woman was brought to the ED with chest pain. The biphasic T wave is consistent with recent reperfusion of an occluded coronary artery supplying the inferior region. Here’s the angiogram of the RCA : No thrombus or plaque rupture in the RCA (or any coronary artery) was found. This is written by Brooks Walsh.

Coronary 52

Coronary CAD ACS STEMI 52

EMDocs

OCTOBER 21, 2023

A 68-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease with a drug eluting stent placed 2 months ago presents with dizziness and vomiting that began 3 hours ago. 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

EMS 97

EMS ALS OR ACS 97

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Written by Jesse McLaren Two patients in their 70s presented to the ED with chest pain and RBBB. The prehospital and ED computer interpretation was inferior STEMI: There’s normal sinus rhythm, first degree AV block and RBBB, normal axis and normal voltages. Coronaries were normal, as was serial troponin. Vitals were normal.

STEMI 73

STEMI Paramedic Coronary ED 73

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. The De Winter ECG pattern: morphology and accuracy for diagnosing acute coronary occlusion: systematic review. 2009;95:1701–1706.

ACS 82

ACS Coronary ALS CAD 82

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 11, 2011

The patient arrived in the ED and had this ECG: No difference. All coronaries were completely normal. Only 5-13% of patients with chest pain and LBBB have MI; many fewer have coronary occlusion. Additionally, appropriate discordance is common in NonSTEMI, but very unusual in coronary occlusion (STEMI).

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary ALS ED 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Hospital Course The patient was taken emergently to the cath lab which did not reveal any significant coronary artery disease, but she was noted to have reduced EF consistent with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Reference on Troponins: Xenogiannis I, Vemmou E, Nikolakopoulos I, et al. It can only be seen by IVUS. MINOCA has many etiologies.

Emergency Department 52

Emergency Department E-9-1-1 Coronary STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Smith: If this is ACS (a big if), t his is just the time when one should NOT use "upstream" dual anti-platelet therapy ("upstream" means in the ED before angiography). Diffuse ST depression with ST elevation in aVR: Is this pattern specific for global ischemia due to left main coronary artery disease? Knotts et al. Left main?

Coronary 52

Coronary ACS STEMI ALS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 13, 2020

Here is the ED ECG on arrival: Less STE/STD Provider's Clinical Impression: "findings concerning for myocardial infarction, likely proximal LAD or Left main." The case I presented in My Comment to that March 9, 2020 post showed a patient with this pattern — who on cath had no more than minimal coronary disease.

Coronary 52

Coronary ACS EMS ALS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 7, 2024

ECG 1 at time zero EARLY REPOLARIZATION ABNORMAL ECG ED final official overread: "early repol vs hyperacute T, minimal changes from previous (previous shown below)" What do YOU think? Lemkes et al. See these casese (and I have many others): First ED ECG is Wellens' (pain free). A 70-something y.o. Eur Heart J 2018. Am Heart J.

STEMI 115

STEMI ACS Critical Care Coronary 115

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 18, 2013

I want all to know that, with the right mind preparation, and the use of the early repol/LAD occlusion formula, extremely subtle coronary occlusion can be detected prospectively, with no other information than the ECG. This was my thought: if this patient presented to the ED with chest pain, then this is an LAD occlusion. Asymmetric.

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary ALS CAD 52