Hey all, The March edition of Journal Club reviewed the HINTS exam for acute vestibular syndrome. Much has been written/podcasted in the FOAM world about this controversial article, with the HINTS exam being touted as a godsend by some, while others recommend cautious use. In addition to the usual critical appraisal of the article, […]
Empiric antibiotics after cardiac arrest?
The July 2014 EM:RAP Paper Chase reviewed a paper claiming 38% of OHCA (Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest) patients are bacteremic, and thus we should routinely give antibiotics to post-arrest patients. We reviewed this paper at the Calgary Journal Club recently and unfortunately, the authors conclusions are more leap of faith than anything else. This single […]
Pericarditis and Myocarditis (Calgary EM Journal Club)
The December journal club reviewed two papers, first up was Imazio’s paper investigating the benefits of treating pericarditis with colchicine. You should definitely know this paper and be implementing it into practice. This is a must read. The second paper was a retrospective review looking at the presenting symptoms and labwork abnormalities in pediatric myocarditis. […]
Problems with the Alvarado and Pediatric Appendicitis Scores (Calgary EM Journal Club)
In part 1 of this journal club, we reviewed the utility of a clinical decision rule for the inconclusive ultrasound in appendicitis. Today we look at a meta-analysis of the Alvarado and Pediatric Appendicitis Score (PAS). Onto the article. Ann Emerg Med. 2014 Oct;64(4):365-372.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.02.025. Epub 2014 Apr 14. What are the most clinically useful […]
The Negative or Inconclusive Ultrasound in Appendicitis – Can a CDR help?
The September edition of journal club featured two articles focused on the diagnosis of appendicitis. These articles each highlight some critical EBM points, which is why I’m breaking them apart into separate posts. This post will only focus on the first article, which examined a potential clinical decision rule for the management of patients with […]