What can the capnography trace tell a resuscitation team beyond airway position? This 2012 reflection explores its use in assessing compressions, recognising possible return of circulation and informing difficult decisions, while emphasising the limitations of interpreting end-tidal carbon dioxide in isolation.
ALS: Airway, Breathing, Capnography??? Read More
Does tissue oxygen monitoring add useful information in sepsis? This 2012 journal club examines a small observational study of StO2, asking whether it contributes beyond lactate and conventional observations, and distinguishing an association with survival from evidence that monitoring improves patient care.
JC StO2 monitoring in the ED. St.Emlyn’s Read More
How seriously should we take ST depression when the patient is now pain-free? This hypothetical cardiology case explores dynamic ECG changes, serial troponin results and clinical context, then reviews the 2012 evidence on when patients with NSTEMI should undergo coronary intervention.
Cardiology Case 02: ST depression, no rush? St.Emlyn’s Read More
How should traumatic cardiac arrest differ from a standard resuscitation algorithm? Natalie May reflects on a difficult early experience and reviews the 2012 debate around reversible causes, chest compressions, ultrasound and emergency thoracotomy, including the uncertainty created by small observational studies.
Traumatic Cardiac Arrest – Apply Some Pressure..? Read More
Does this patient need an arterial blood gas, and what will you do with the result? This 2012 discussion challenges routine arterial sampling, considers venous gases and pulse oximetry, and argues for choosing investigations that answer a specific clinical question while minimising avoidable pain.
V & A in the ED – blood gases – St.Emlyn’s Read More
Mushroom poisoning can present very differently depending on the species involved. This 2012 overview considers fly agaric, death cap and deadly webcap exposures, including delayed liver or kidney injury, and reflects on the difficulties of making treatment decisions when the evidence is limited.
Where’s the fun in fungi? – St.Emlyn’s Read More
How should a clinical topic review be organised for assessment? In this 2012 FCEM preparation article, Simon Carley connects the written structure with the published marking scheme and explains how the written review, examiner discussion and viva fitted together.
CTR – the link between structure and marking at FCEM Read More
A personal account of the pressures of running a busy emergency department. A review of the literature about pressure in emergency medicine. #FOAM
Burnout in the ED: Too tired to sleep, too wired to weep? Read More
