by David Ismael Arbona Calderón, MD Case Scenario: A 48 y/o unconscious male presented with dizziness and weakness in his office. On arrival of paramedics, patient is diaphoretic and unresponsive, but with pulse and spontaneous respirations. Initial assessment reveals a glucose level of 23 mg/dL. Paramedics find the patients current medication list in the patient’s
by Stephanie Louka, MD Case Scenario: Paramedics are called to the home of a 59 year old male patient with an LVAD who was found unconscious and unresponsive by family members. He was last seen 2 hours earlier acting normally. There is no evidence of trauma. Family members are unaware of any recent illness or
by Melody Glenn, MD From 2008-2012, Francisco Cantú worked as an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol in the deserts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Line Becomes a River is a memoir describing his experience, and like any talented memoirist, he uses his individual story to tell a bigger truth: violence has a
On March 3rd, we published the following case stem: EMS is dispatched to the home of a 75 yo female for a “lift assist”. Reportedly, the patient slipped out of bed when getting up in the morning and needs assistance in getting off the floor. Per dispatch, she is alert and denies other complaints. This is not the
by Ritu Sahni, MD, MPH, FAEMS On the Friday before this past Thanksgiving, the President signed HR304, otherwise known as the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act. In a year in which dysfunction would have been an improvement in the political world, this important legislation was passed in a bipartisan manner. As EMS physicians,
by Carly Loner, MD Case Scenario: EMS is called to the scene of a motorcycle accident involving a 42 year old male. The patient was helmeted and his head is atraumatic, but he is confused. Breath sounds are equal bilaterally. The patient’s abdomen is diffusely tender and he has an open left femur fracture that
by Clayton Kazan, MD MS EMS Physicians need to be drivers of the EMS system and recognize that we are a Mobile Community Healthcare Provider and not providing medical direction to a fleet of glorified Ubers. This seems like a total “no-brainer,” yet we find ourselves grappling with problems like Ambulance Patient Offload Delay (APOD,
On December 5th we posted the following case for discussion and asked our readers to comment on the management of refractory ventricular fibrillation. Here is the summary of comments received, both on the blog, and via twitter. The Case…. A 56 year-old male is cleaning out his garage with his wife when she hears him
by Melody Glenn, MD The voice on the other end of the phone sounds frantic and rushed, “He can’t breathe!” The palpable panic wakes the emergency dispatcher out of his post-lunch daze. He sits up a little straighter and shifts his gaze to the periphery, preparing to listen more closely. “Okay, tell me exactly what
by Brandon Bleess, MD EMT-T and Jeremy Cushman, MD, MS, EMT-P, FACEP, FAEMS Case: A 54-year-old male is working in his yard when he collapses to the ground and his wife calls 911. The call is dispatched as a cardiac arrest and the patient\’s wife is instructed to perform CPR per pre-arrival instructions. Upon EMS
