The Resus Room

Simon Laing, Rob Fenwick & James Yates

Emergency Medicine podcasts based on evidence based medicine focussed on practice in and around the resus room.

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286 episodes
Updated Sunday

Episodes286

Newest first

Mar 18, 2017 · 41 min
Trauma in the ED '17
So today Rob and I were lucky enough to be asked to attend the Trauma Care Conference 2017, to listen to some of the great talks and catch up with some of the speakers for their take on the highlights of the talks. We managed to catch the following speakers, here are the topics they covered and relevant links to the resources discussed. Speakers Gareth Davies, Consultant Emergency Medicine, Royal London Hospital; Understanding where, when and how people die? Dave Gay, Consultant Radiologist, Derriford Hospital; The Role of Ultrasound in Trauma Fiona Lecky, Professor Emergency Medicine, Salford; Traumatic Brain Injury: recent progress & future challenges Simon Carley, Professor Emergency Medicine, Central Manchester; The Top 10 trauma papers of 2016 St Emlyn's Top 10 +1 Trauma Papers 2016 Tim Rainer, Professor Emergency Medicine, Cardiff; Permissive hypotension in blunt trauma David Raven, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Heart of England Foundation Trust; HECTOR & Elderly Trauma The HECTOR Course (& free online manual!!) Ross Fisher, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Sheffield Children's Hospital; TARN report for paediatrics p3 presentations TARNlet Database Have a listen to the podcast and again huge thanks to the speakers for taking their time to share their superb talks with a wider audience. Simon
Mar 8, 2017 · 19 min
Cardiac Arrest Centres
Centralisation of care for specialist services such as stroke, trauma and myocardial infarctions is becoming more and more common place. But where will it stop and what does it mean for the specialty of Emergency Medicine? In this episode we have a look at a recent pilot RCT published in the journal of Resuscitation looking at the feasibility of setting up an bigger RCT to evaluate moving prehospital patients to a cardiac arrest centre. The paper itself is a great piece of work but the bigger discussion around the topic is also a really important point to consider. Have a listen to the podcast, see what you think and please post you comments on the site for us all to see. Enjoy! Simon References A Randomised tRial of Expedited transfer to a cardiac arrest centre for non-ST elevation ventricular fibrillation out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: The ARREST pilot randomised trial. Patterson T. Resuscitation. 2017
Mar 1, 2017 · 30 min
March 2017; papers of the month
Welcome back to Papers of the Month. March has given us some great papers. We kick off with a couple of papers looking at rib fractures, associated morbidity and mortality and also looks at management of flail segments. We then turn our attention to airway management and look at a paper reviewing the outcomes associated with patients who are intubated during resuscitation from cardiac arrest. As ever we would highly encourage you to go and read the papers yourselves, these are only our takes on the literature and we would love to hear your thoughts below. Enjoy Simon & Rob References & Further Reading Association Between Tracheal Intubation During Adult In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Survival. Andersen LW. JAMA. 2017 Comprehensive approach to the management of the patient with multiple rib fractures: a review and introduction of a bundled rib fracture management protocol. Cordelie E. Trauma Surg & Acute Care Open. 2017 Are first rib fractures a marker for other life-threatening injuries in patients with major trauma? A cohort study of patients on the UK Trauma Audit and Research Network database. Sammy IA. Emerg Med J. 2017 AIRWAYS-2
Feb 21, 2017 · 11 min
Rhabdomyolysis
Think of rhabdomyolysis and you'll think of an elevated creatine kinase (CK). The condition ranges from an asymptomatic period to a life-threatening condition with a hugely associated rise in CK which can also be accompanied by electrolyte disturbance, renal failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Rhabdomyolysis is caused by a breakdown in skeletal muscle and occurs most commonly following trauma, very often that can be due to a 'long-lie' when a patient is unable to get off a floor until help arrives after a prolonged period. There are other causes including drugs, muscle enzyme deficiencies, electrolyte abnormalities and more. The presentation itself is pretty vague and suspicion of the disease needs to be pretty high. Patients can experience weakness, myalgia and the dark'coca-cola urine', the diagnosis is then confirmed with a serum elevation in CK. The big concern with Rhabdomyolysis is the hit the kidneys take. Acute kidney injury is due to the heme pigment that is released from myoglobin and haemoglobin and is nephrotoxic. Early aggressive fluid rehydration aims to minimise ischaemic injury, increase urinary flow rates and thus limit intratubular cast formation. Fluids also help eliminate excess K+ that may be associated. But have a think about the management in your ED, how high does that CK need to be to require i.v. fluids and admission to hospital? Here's a few facts we need to know: Normal CK enzyme levels are 45–260 U/l. CK rises in rhabdomyolysis within 12hours of the onset of muscle injury CK levels peak at 1–3 days, and declines 3–5 days after muscle injury The peak CK level may be predictive of the development of renal failure A CK level of 5000 U/l or greater is related to renal failure Optimal fluid rate administration is unclear, some papers suggest replacement of isotonic saline at rates of 1-2L per hour. , adjusted to 200-300mL per hour to maintain a diuresis. Attention needs to be paid to urine output serum markers and fluid status. A lot of the evidence and knowledge surrounding rhabdomyolysis is from humanitarian disasters; earthquakes, terrorism along with observational cohorts, but at the end of the day we need to work with what we've got. Have a listen to the podcast and see what you think, the application of the evidence base may change your practice. Enjoy! References Bench-to-bedside review: Rhabdomyolysis -- an overview for clinicians. Huerta-Alardín AL. Crit Care. 2005 Creatine kinase MB isoenzyme in dermatomyositis: a noncardiac source. Larca LJ. Ann Intern Med. 1981 Epidemiologic aspects of the Bam earthquake in Iran: the nephrologic perspective. Hatamizadeh P. Am J Kidney Dis. 2006 Prognostic value, kinetics and effect of CVVHDF on serum of the myoglobin and creatine kinase in critically ill patients with rhabdomyolysis. Mikkelsen TS. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2005 Rhabdomyolysis: an evaluation of 475 hospitalized patients. Melli G. Medicine (Baltimore). 2005 Serum creatine kinase as predictor of clinical course in rhabdomyolysis: a 5-year intensive care survey. de Meijer AR. Intensive Care Med. 2003 Prevention and treatment of heme pigment-induced acute kidney injury (acute renal failure). Paul M Palevsky. UpToDate. 2015
Feb 15, 2017 · 22 min
Epistaxis
Epistaxis is an extremely common presentation to both Prehospital Emergency Services and Emergency Departments. The vast majority are benign and self limiting but every once in a while a catastrophic bleed will come our way. Whilst not necessarily the most attention grabbing of topics a sound understanding of the management is key to excellent care. In this podcast Rob talk us through the management of epistaxis, all the way from causes and presentation, right the way through to resuscitative management and latest evidenced based treatment. Enjoy! References & Further Reading LITFL epistaxis review Geeky medics epistaxis BMJ overview paper & management flowchart Routine coagulation screening in the management of emergency admission for epistaxis; is it necessary? Thaha MA. J Laryngol Otol 2000 Front-line epistaxis management: let's not forget the basic. E C Ho. J Laryngol Otol 2008 Serious spontaneous epistaxis and hypertension in hospitalized patients.Page C. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2011 Tranexamic acid in epistaxis: a systematic review. Kamhieh Y, et al. Clin Otolaryngol. 2016
Feb 1, 2017 · 26 min
February 2017; papers of the month
Welcome back to Papers of the Month. February holds a diverse number of topics on some really interesting areas of practice. We kick off with a snap shot systematic review from the Annals of Emergency Medicine on the effect of Amiodarone or Lignocaine on the outcome from refractory VF or VT arrests, are drugs losing more favour yet again in cardiac arrest. Next up is a pilot study following the surgical theme of minimal intervention for appendicitis, can antibiotics safely be used in a particular cohort of patients to prevent the need for surgery? And moreover could this be even safer than the traditional surgical cure? Last up we cover a paper looking at the survival from traumatic cardiac arrest and consider the bias that may occur by reporting those resuscitation attempts that are of limited duration in with the whole cohort; are we painting a overly negative picture of the prognosis of traumatic cardiac arrest? As ever we would highly encourage you to go and read the papers yourselves, these are only our takes on the literature and we would love to hear your thoughts below. Enjoy Simon & Rob References & Further Reading In Patients With Cardiac Arrest, Does Amiodarone or Lidocaine Increase Meaningful Survival? Hunter BR. Ann Emerg Med Antibiotics-First Versus Surgery for Appendicitis: A US Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial AllowingOutpatient Antibiotic Management. Talan DA. Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Dec Resuscitation attempts and duration in traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Beck B. Resuscitation 2017 Feb
Jan 16, 2017 · 16 min
The AHEAD Study; scan all head injuries on warfarin??
Those of us who are a bit longer in the tooth have spent most of our careers not scanning everyone who sustained a head injury on warfarin, but in 2104 NICE published guidance suggesting we do just that. At times, with the huge burden we place on our radiology services, it is difficult not think we're over doing things with all of these scan requests, especially when the patient has no adverse symptoms or signs. Fortunately the AHEAD study has just been published which looks at thousands of patients presenting to ED's on warfarin with a head injury. The paper is open access and deserves a full read, in this podcast I run through some of the main parts of the study and have a think about how it might impact on our practice. This is just one part of the puzzle on the management of patients with anticoagulated head injuries, we had a look previously on what to do if you perform a scan and that appears normal in our Anticoagulation, Head Injury & Delayed Bleeds Podcast. Hope you enjoy the podcast and we'd love to hear any of your feedback on social media or on the website. Simon
Jan 14, 2017 · 17 min
Cardiac Arrest; when to stop?
A lot of our podcasts have focussed on prognostic factors in arrest to help with the decision making of continuing or stopping resuscitation in cardiac arrest. There would appear to be a huge variety in practice as to when resuscitation is ceased, and in that way having explicit guidance to unify practice can at times seem appealing. In this episode we have a look at a recent paper covering the topic, it suggests a group of patients accounting for nearly half of cardiac arrests, that upon recognition could safely lead us to cease efforts. Have a listen to the podcast and let us know what you think! References Early Identification of Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest With No Chance of Survival and Consideration for Organ Donation. Jabre P. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Resuscitation Council; Recognition of Life Extinct
Jan 1, 2017 · 30 min
January 2017; papers of the month
Happy New Year!!! The publishing world seems to have wound down a bit for the festive break, but 4 papers caught out eye that can add some further context to practice in the Resus Room. Firstly we take a look at two papers looking at the conversion from non-shockable to shockable rhythms in cardiac arrest, both the likelihood and the associated prognosis. Next up we have a look at a paper focussing on Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC's) and their reliability as an outcome for studies. Lastly we have a look at the recent Cochrane Review on video laryngoscopy vs direct laryngoscopy for adult intubation. Thanks again to our sponsors ADPRAC for supporting the podcast. References & Further Reading Age-specific differences in prognostic significance of rhythmconversion from initial non-shockable to shockable rhythm and subsequent shock delivery in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Funada A. Resuscitation. 2016 Conversion to shockable rhythms during resuscitation and survivalfor out-of hospital cardiac arrest. Wah W. Am J Emerg Med. 2016 Inter-rater reliability of post-arrest cerebral performance category(CPC) scores. Grossestreuer AV. Resuscitation. 2016 Videolaryngoscopy versus direct laryngoscopy for adult patients requiring tracheal intubation. Lewis SR. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016
Dec 15, 2016 · 16 min
Troponins replacing history taking?
As the years tick by our healthcare systems work harder and harder to ensure that acute coronary syndromes are picked up as they present to our Emergency Departments, the evolution of high sensitivity troponins and their application have been key to this. The utility of a test however is dependant upon it's application to the appropriate patient. In a heavily burdened system it can at times seem sensible to front load tests and 'add on a troponin' before we are even sure the history is consistent with a possible acute coronary syndrome. But is this a safe approach for our patients and what are the potential consequences? In this podcast we run through a recent paper from the US on the topic. Whilst not the highest level of evidence and also looking at a system not entirely generalisable to the UK, it does highlight the aforementioned concerns and is a useful reminder to consider our approach to testing in patients with chest pain. We are certainly not berating the use of troponin, we just think the paper serves a great reminder that testing must be appropriately applied. Enjoy, and as ever we'd love to hear your feedback! References SIGN ACS Guidelines 2016 RCEMFOAMed SIGN ACS Guidelines Causes of Elevated Cardiac Troponins in the Emergency Department and Their Associated Mortality. Meigher S. Acad Emerg Med. 2016 Cardiac Troponin: The basics from St. Emlyn's Rick Body via St Emlyns; One high sensitivity troponin test to rule out acute myocardial infarction
Dec 10, 2016 · 9 min
RSI Debate; the aftermath..
So my talk at the ICS SOA 2016 conference on whether ED should be allowed to intubate certainly provoked some discussion, which was fortunate as it was the purpose of the talk! If you haven't listened to it yet, stop listening to this and have a listen to the talk here first. In this quick debrief between Rob and myself we have a think about the feedback and where to go from here. We'd love to hear any feedback in the comments section at the webpage at www.TheResusRoom.co.uk Simon
Dec 5, 2016 · 22 min
Should EM clinicians be allowed to RSI?
RSI delivered by EM clinicians is common place throughout the globe, in the UK however it still seems a contentious topic, with recent data showing only 20% of ED RSIs being performed by EM clinicians. I was lucky enough to be asked to talk at the ICS SoA 2016 conference on the topic of EM doctors carrying out RSI's in the UK and this podcast is a copy of that talk. I hope it provides some context both to UK practitioners and also to those from other countries, who may not understand what the big deal is all about. Simon References A randomized controlled trial on the effect of educational interventions in promoting airway management skill maintenance.Randomized controlled trial. Kovacs G, et al. Ann Emerg Med. 2000 Acute airway management in the emergency department by non-anesthesiologists. Review article. Kovacs G, et al. Can J Anaesth. 2004 Achieving house staff competence in emergency airway management: results of a teaching program using a computerized patient simulator. Mayo PH, et al. Crit Care Med. 2004 The who, where, and what of rapid sequence intubation: prospective observational study of emergency RSI outside the operating theatre. Reid C, et al. Emerg Med J. 2004 Rapid sequence induction of anaesthesia in UK emergency departments: a national census. Benger J, et al. Emerg Med J. 2011. Tracheal intubation in an urban emergency department in Scotland: a prospective, observational study of 3738 intubations. Kerslake D, et al. Resuscitation. 2015 Systematic review and meta-analysis of first-pass success rates in emergency department intubation: Creating a benchmark for emergency airway care. Park L, et al. Emerg Med Australas. 2016 Scottish Intensive Care Society: RSI Difficult Airway Society Guidelines RCOA Anaesthesia in the Emergency Department Guidelines; Chapter 6.1 John Hinds on RSI at RCEM 2015 Belfast Draft; AAGBI Guidelines: Safer pre-hospital anaesthesia 2016 AAGBI Pre-hospital Anaesthesia Guideline 2009
Dec 1, 2016 · 28 min
December 2016; papers of the month
Welcome to December's Papers of the month where we'll be looking at the papers recently published that have caught our eye. First up, what happens when clinicians override clinical decision rules for PE? Are we better than the the rules? Next we have a look at a review article that runs through the back ground literature on subsegmental PE's, their diagnosis and management. And finally we have a look at a paper that helps to benchmark ED airway management with regards first pass success rate. Our sponsors ADPRAC are giving away another £30 iTunes voucher to spend on education/entertainment to support your work life balance! All you need to do is click the link on our home page through to the ADPRAC website and answer the question relating to the podcast, good luck! References & Further Reading Yield of CT Pulmonary Angiography in the Emergency Department When Providers Override Evidence-based Clinical Decision Support. Yan Z. Radiology. 2016 Best Clinical Practice: Current Controversies in Pulmonary Embolism Imaging and Treatment of Subsegmental Thromboembolic Disease. Long B. J Emerg Med. 2016 Systematic review and meta-analysis of first-pass success rates in emergency department intubation: Creating a benchmark for emergency airway care. Park L. Emerg Med Australas. 2016
Nov 17, 2016 · 18 min
Upper GI Bleeding, what's the risk?
Patients frequently present to the Emergency Department either with direct concern following an upper gastro intestinal bleed, or with a history that points towards the diagnosis. When these patients are haemodynamically unstable or with ongoing high volume bleeding the decision to admit or discharge becomes simple. But when the episode has settled, deciding whether they are safe to be discharged and continue with outpatient follow up can be difficult. Lots of us use scoring systems such as the Glasgow-Batchford Score or the Rockall Score but how much do we actually understand regarding the 'positive' and 'negative' outcomes of those scores? A recent paper on the topic helps to cast some light on the topic and forms the basis of this podcast. One of the frequently used scoring systems is the Glasgow-Blatchford score below that bases it's score upon historical, physiological and laboratory findings. mdcalc GBS scoring calculator Probably the other most frequently used score in ED is the Rockall score, which in its full form utilises endoscopy findings, however for use in the ED (pre-endoscopy) it has been modified and utilised. mdcalc pre-endoscopy Rockall Score Have a listen to how these scores fare in the paper and it may inform your risk stratification in the ED. Enjoy! References and Further Reading The Predictive Value of Pre-Endoscopic Risk Scores to Predict Adverse Outcomes in Emergency Department Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding - A Systematic Review. Ramaekers R. Acad Emerg Med. 2016 Upper Gastro Intestinal Bleeding at St.Emlyn's
Nov 10, 2016 · 19 min
PE; the latest controversy
It's never long before the topic of pulmonary embolism makes it back into the controversial lime light and a recent paper on the association of PE with syncope is the lastest reason. The PESIT trial, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine certainly grabs your attention when you read the abstract, with the implication that PE's are a major and hugely missed cause of the presentation of syncope. It also highlights a diagnostic work up that consists of blanket Well's scoring +/- d-dimer to decide who should be worked up further for the potential diagnosis, for every single patient presenting with syncope, including those with no appropriate symptoms or signs! As always to read the abstract and draw a conclusion is to fall at the first hurdle, so take a listen to the podcast as we dive a bit deeper into the paper and topic, and of course make sure you take a look at the paper yourself and see what you make of the headline grabbing article Enjoy! References and Further Reading Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism among Patients Hospitalized for Syncope. Prandoni P. N Engl J Med. 2016 Incidence of asymptomatic pulmonary embolism in moderately to severely injured trauma patients. Schultz DJ.J Trauma. 2004 Apr Prospective evaluation of unsuspected pulmonary embolism on contrast enhanced multidetector CT (MDCT) scanning. Ritchie G. Thorax. 2007 Jun. EM Nerd-The Case of the Incidental Bystander JC: Prevalence of PE in patients with syncope. St.Emlyn's
Nov 1, 2016 · 29 min
November 2016; papers of the month
This month the literature seems to be focussed on cardiac arrest In this podcast we'll cover a paper looking at the significance of chest compression rate, ultrasound for prognostication (and to a lesser extent identification of tamponade) and finally a systematic review and meta-analysis of PCI following ROSC. The PCI paper follows on nicely from our previous podcast on the topic, so make sure you have a listen to that one first. Our sponsors ADPRAC are giving away another £30 iTunes voucher to spend on education/entertainment to support your work life balance! All you need to do is click the link on our home page through to the ADPRAC website and answer the question relating to the podcast, good luck! References & Further Reading Association between chest compression rates and clinical outcomes following in-hospital cardiac arrest at an academic tertiary hospital. Kilgannon JH. Resuscitation. 2016 Emergency department point-of-care ultrasound in out-of-hospital and in-ED cardiac arrest. Gaspari R. Resuscitation. 2016 Patients without ST elevation after return of spontaneous circulation may benefit from emergent percutaneous intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Millin MG. Resuscitation. 2016 Emergency department point-of-care ultrasound in out-of-hospital and in-ED cardiac arrest. Gaspari R. Resuscitation 2016 EM Nerd-The Case of the Tell-Tale Heart JC: Is this the REASON to use USS in cardiac arrest? St.Emlyn's
Oct 22, 2016 · 16 min
Stroke thrombolysis
Stroke thrombolysis has definitely put the spotlight back on to the topic of stroke over the last few years. Stroke thrombolysis has led to restructuring of stroke care in the UK and has helped drive investment in stroke care. The evidence base that underpins thrombolysis has been controversial to say the least and can be difficult to comprehend. Review article: Why is there still a debate regarding the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis in the management of presumed acute ischaemic stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Donaldson L. Emerg Med Australas. 2016 Aug 25 The article, published in the the Emergency Medicine Australasia Journal is a great place to start to get to grips with the topic. In the podcast we run through the paper and hopefully this will shed act as a good recap on the topic and lead you to delve into the primary literature and form your own opinion. Enjoy! References Review article: Why is there still a debate regarding the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis in the management of presumed acute ischaemic stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Donaldson L. Emerg Med Australas. 2016 Aug 25 Royal College of Physicians; National clinical guideline for stroke, Prepared by the Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party, Fifth Edition 2016 (accredited by NICE)
Oct 11, 2016 · 14 min
One for the geeks; interval likelihood ratios
Risk assessment, testing and risk management form the very heart of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. Being aware of the evidence surrounding a topic is key to delivering high level care but without an understanding of the underpinning concepts it's application is extremely limited. Understanding how a test result changes a patient's likelihood of a disease can be described with likelihood ratios, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has a podcast explaining likelihood ratios in more detail. But when a test result comes back on the boundary between positive and negative, or at the extremes of positive we can find it difficult to know what this means and that's where interval likelihood ratios comes into play. Examples include a minimally elevated WCC in a suspected appendicitis, or a dramatically raised d-dimer as compared to a borderline positive result in a suspected pulmonary embolus, this podcast talks through some of those concepts and their application, enjoy! References Evidence-based emergency medicine/skills for evidence-based emergency care. Interval likelihood ratios: another advantage for the evidence-based diagnostician. Brown MD. Ann Emerg Med. 2003 Pulmonary embolism: making sense of the diagnostic evaluation. Wolfe TR. Ann Emerg Med. 2001 Diagnostic accuracy of conventional or age adjusted D-dimer cut-off values in older patients with suspected venous thromboembolism: systematic review and meta-analysis. Schouten HJ. BMJ. 2013
Oct 1, 2016 · 28 min
October 2016; papers of the month
This month we cover a paper looking at the role of early craniectomy for raised intracranial pressure, the outcomes associated with advanced airway managements in prehospital cardiac arrest and lastly at the utility on ETCO2 and consider if it's application decreases adverse respiratory events. This month our great sponsors ADPRAC our giving away a £30 iTunes voucher to spend on education/entertainment to support your work life balance! All you need to do is click the link on our home page through to the ADPRAC website and answer the question relating to the podcast, good luck! References and Links Trial of Decompressive Craniectomy for Traumatic Intracranial Hypertension. Hutchinson PJ, N Engl J Med. 2016 Sep Capnography for procedural sedation in the ED: a systematic review. Dewdney C, Emerg Med J. 2016 The role of prehospital advanced airway management on outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients: a meta-analysis. Jeong S. Am J Emerg Med. 2016 Jul TheBottomLine - RESCUEicp ICS State of the Art Conference 2016: Find out more here
Sep 29, 2016 · 10 min
Asthma; New 2016 BTS Guidelines
This week the British Thoracic Society have released an updated version of their guidelines on asthma. The document covers all aspects from diagnosis, treatment and follow up, in this podcast we briefly run through some of the aspects covered in the acute management section. Make sure you have a look at the full document that can be found here https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinical-information/asthma/btssign-asthma-guideline-2016/ Speak to you soon!