Eyebrow Laceration and Repair, If You Dare!
Picture this: It’s Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. You’re spending your designated holiday working the overnight. You’re eating some leftover fruitcake in the nurse’s lounge, and you see the following complaint sign into triage: “Drunk/face pain.”
This could mean just about anything when ethanol is on board. You lift your head just slightly over the computer screen and see a young gentleman staggering in the hall. His chart is labeled “SLC” for “streamline care.” Everyone knows that intoxicated patients are never appropriate for your streamline care area, but you decide to take a chance, and hope this guy ha...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 26, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Eyebrow Laceration and Repair, If You Dare!
Picture this: It’s Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. You’re spending your designated holiday working the overnight. You’re eating some leftover fruitcake in the nurse’s lounge, and you see the following complaint sign into triage: “Drunk/face pain.”
This could mean just about anything when ethanol is on board. You lift your head just slightly over the computer screen and see a young gentleman staggering in the hall. His chart is labeled “SLC” for “streamline care.” Everyone knows that intoxicated patients are never appropriate for your streamline care area, but you decide to take a chance, and hope this guy has ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 26, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Lumbar Puncture: Golden Rules
We feel it is extremely important to highlight some golden rules and additional pearls after our recent lumbar puncture series. (Read the first two articles about positioning and technique at http://bit.ly/1zRSOdC and http://bit.ly/1wY8MiJ.) These tips will help you ensure the best outcome for your patients.
Be Prepared
§ Be aware that patients will be anxious.
□ Spend dedicated time reviewing the procedure and informed consent.
□ Make sure that they feel only the lidocaine injection.
□ Most patients will do better with Versed as long as there are no contraindications.
§ Be prepared for pa...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Lumbar Puncture: Golden Rules
We feel it is extremely important to highlight some golden rules and additional pearls after our recent lumbar puncture series. (Read the first two articles about positioning and technique at http://bit.ly/1zRSOdC and http://bit.ly/1wY8MiJ.) These tips will help you ensure the best outcome for your patients.
Be Prepared
§ Be aware that patients will be anxious.
□ Spend dedicated time reviewing the procedure and informed consent.
□ Make sure that they feel only the lidocaine injection.
□ Most patients will do better with Versed as long as there are no contraindications.
§ Be prepared for patients ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Lumbar Puncture Made Simple
Part 2 of a Three-Part Mini-Series on Lumbar Puncture
This month we are back (no pun intended) with the second part of our mini-series focused on perfect patient positioning and lumbar puncture (LP). Part one can be found at http://bit.ly/ProceduralPause.
Now that you have the proper skills to position your patient for an LP, the procedure should be pretty simple, right? The answer is yes! We want you all to be experts. We know that you can and will master an LP after reading these short and sweet LP guidelines and clinical pearls.
Lumbar puncture in the emergency department.
Manual of Clinical Anesth...
Source: The Procedural Pause - November 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Lumbar Puncture Made Simple
Part 2 of a Three-Part Mini-Series on Lumbar Puncture
This month we are back (no pun intended) with the second part of our mini-series focused on perfect patient positioning and lumbar puncture (LP). Part one can be found at http://bit.ly/ProceduralPause.
Now that you have the proper skills to position your patient for an LP, the procedure should be pretty simple, right? The answer is yes! We want you all to be experts. We know that you can and will master an LP after reading these short and sweet LP guidelines and clinical pearls.
Lumbar puncture in the emergency department.
Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology;...
Source: The Procedural Pause - November 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Positioning is Everything
Part 1 of a Mini-Series on Lumbar Puncture
We love breaking down and simplifying complicated procedures so you can perform them easily and efficiently. The next few blog posts will focus on strengthening your practice.
We want to give appropriate and safe care. We also want to consider patient satisfaction, dignity, and comfort when we complete any procedure. This month, we are focusing on procedures that require perfect patient positioning. Half the battle of any procedure is setting up your stage to perform, no matter how complex or simple the task at hand may be. Successful procedures are all about positioning...
Source: The Procedural Pause - October 1, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Positioning is Everything
Part 1 of a Mini-Series on Lumbar Puncture
We love breaking down and simplifying complicated procedures so you can perform them easily and efficiently. The next few blog posts will focus on strengthening your practice.
We want to give appropriate and safe care. We also want to consider patient satisfaction, dignity, and comfort when we complete any procedure. This month, we are focusing on procedures that require perfect patient positioning. Half the battle of any procedure is setting up your stage to perform, no matter how complex or simple the task at hand may be. Successful procedures are all about positioning and...
Source: The Procedural Pause - October 1, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Go Mental: Head and Neck Anesthesia
As we approach the end of summer, we pay tribute to a special nerve block. This particular block is crucial for treating lower lip lacerations that may be related to slips and falls at the pool or skateboarding. We are going to ask you to go mental, as in blocking the mental nerve of the face.
The mental nerve is an extension of the inferior alveolar nerve, which branches primarily off the trigeminal nerve. It is a sensory nerve that provides sensation to the lower chin and lip. It does not supply sensory innervation to the lower teeth, although some patients report mild anesthesia to their teeth. Three branches come ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - September 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Go Mental: Head and Neck Anesthesia
As we approach the end of summer, we pay tribute to a special nerve block. This particular block is crucial for treating lower lip lacerations that may be related to slips and falls at the pool or skateboarding. We are going to ask you to go mental, as in blocking the mental nerve of the face.
The mental nerve is an extension of the inferior alveolar nerve, which branches primarily off the trigeminal nerve. It is a sensory nerve that provides sensation to the lower chin and lip. It does not supply sensory innervation to the lower teeth, although some patients report mild anesthesia to their teeth. Three branches come ou...
Source: The Procedural Pause - September 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Finger Fascination
It’s summertime, and people are spending a lot of time outside in their yards, at the pool, traveling, hiking, and getting their fingers caught in things. That makes it the perfect time for a tribute to finger lacerations, specifically those with nail bed disruption and avulsion.
You will need to do a bit of handy work yourself if you work in an urgent care center that does not have a hand specialist on call 24/7. Finger lacerations can be complicated, but you simply need to keep in mind the basic principles about repair of soft tissue injuries. It is also important to identify tuft fractures and tendon disruption.
...
Source: The Procedural Pause - August 6, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Finger Fascination
It’s summertime, and people are spending a lot of time outside in their yards, at the pool, traveling, hiking, and getting their fingers caught in things. That makes it the perfect time for a tribute to finger lacerations, specifically those with nail bed disruption and avulsion.
You will need to do a bit of handy work yourself if you work in an urgent care center that does not have a hand specialist on call 24/7. Finger lacerations can be complicated, but you simply need to keep in mind the basic principles about repair of soft tissue injuries. It is also important to identify tuft fractures and tendon disruption.
...
Source: The Procedural Pause - August 6, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Life in the Emergency Department: Not What You Expected?
This is what you signed up for, right? A career where you are a multitasking, highly-skilled medical practitioner in a fast-paced emergency department. This place is predictably unpredictable, but you are saving lives, and it feels good! The problem is, you cannot help feeling unappreciated, underpaid, overwhelmed, and exhausted. You are finally living the dream, but the dream consists of working weekends, double-call, and every other holiday. You miss lunch while still gaining a few pounds. You gain incredible insight into a very broken care system. Feeling more like a nightmare? It’s certainly not what you expected.
...
Source: The Procedural Pause - June 11, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Life in the Emergency Department: Not What You Expected?
This is what you signed up for, right? A career where you are a multitasking, highly-skilled medical practitioner in a fast-paced emergency department. This place is predictably unpredictable, but you are saving lives, and it feels good! The problem is, you cannot help feeling unappreciated, underpaid, overwhelmed, and exhausted. You are finally living the dream, but the dream consists of working weekends, double-call, and every other holiday. You miss lunch while still gaining a few pounds. You gain incredible insight into a very broken care system. Feeling more like a nightmare? It’s certainly not what you expected.
...
Source: The Procedural Pause - June 11, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Battle of the Bulge: Olecranon Bursitis
Olecranon bursitis, also called baker’s or Popeye elbow, can be a painless or an irritating condition involving the bursa located near the proximal end of the ulna in the elbow over the olecranon. Normal bursae sacs generally are filled with a small amount of fluid, which helps the joint remain mobile. The sac can swell under the soft tissue from overuse or when the area sustains an injury from a bump or fall.
Normal bursae are usually small, but they can grow to be quite large, swollen, and occasionally even infected when they become irritated or inflamed. The swelling is obvious because the space in this area is l...
Source: The Procedural Pause - May 6, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
