During the course of a shift in the Emergency Department, I occasionally need to remind myself to rethink my diagnosis. Fighting diagnostic momentum can be difficult. That is why we look thoroughly for “Red Flags” (like we’ve talked about with…
Vigilance in the face of apparently common or benign presentations is a common theme of the PedEM Morsels. As we have said, Grandma can diagnose the gastroenteritis; we need to consider the other sinister ailments that masquerade as the benign. …
With the subtly that only Mother Nature has, the days in the Northern Hemisphere have started to get longer and become consistently warmer. This, along with the fast approaching end of the school year, heralds the beginning of summer time. …
I think that we’d all agree that 144/89 is not a normal blood pressure, but it is one that those of us who have the pleasure of caring for adults will look at with almost a sense of comfort –…
We have all been there: listening to the family describe, with great concern, the apparent tremendous volume of emesis that their child produced prompting the ED visit. Everyone is knowledgeable about “dehydration” and is aware of the potential dangers it…
So, while many of us don’t want to admit it, a lot of what we do in the Emergency Department does not specifically qualify as an “emergency.” Of course, while what constitutes an emergency is somewhat relative to the individual, for…
The best lesson learned from the first Die Hard movie = never take your shoes off and shoot out glass windows. Ok, maybe I’m the only one who learned that lesson from the movie, but it is because I hate plantar…