Arterial Lines: Let’s Take This Up a Dicrotic Notch
If you haven’t been able to tell by now, hemodynamics is one of my favorite critical care concepts. In a previous blog article, “Arterial Lines 101”, I discussed the basics; what your A-line should look like, what each point means, and how to tell if you are over or under dampened. This blog will kick […]
The Right Ventricle: Getting to Know Her
(Disclaimer: the following series is meant to be a light-hearted, silly way to learn about the right ventricle while poking fun at the awkwardness of dating. There will be goofy generalizations made about men AND women; none of them are meant to be offensive. Please laugh at my jokes. And learn, but mostly just laugh.) […]
The Right Ventricle: Your First Big Fight
The Right Ventricle: Your First Big Fight You had a great first date. Things are progressing nicely, but then gosh dang COVID-19 hit and made life hard for everyone. Your new girlfriend is feeling the pressure. She’s working more hours than usual at Five Guys, there is a national shortage of ground beef which further […]
It’s Shockingly Simple | Part 1
Many times as healthcare professionals, we get wrapped up in the complicated concepts of emergency medicine and critical care. It’s important to frequently train on the fundamentals and stay up to date on the latest evidence-based practice, or else you could find yourself on a seemingly simple patient assignment and you’ve forgotten how to […]
When to Transfuse: Diagnostic Tools
When to Transfuse: Diagnostic Tools The ability to transfuse critically ill patients before they even reach the hospital doors is becoming a reality for more programs every day. Over the past several years the tides have shifted to favor blood in for blood out, highlighting the importance this component plays in our normal physiology. There […]
IV Flow Rate Restrictions with Commonly Used Equipment
The relationship between IV catheter gauge and flow rate seems to be widely understood, but there could be standard practices in your fluid administration that are making your sweet 16 gauge in the AC perform more like a 20 in the hand. The limitation isn’t with the catheter itself, but rather the different equipment […]
Calculating Pediatric Maintenance Fluids (4:2:1 Rule)
Pediatrics, calculations, fluids, maintenance, hypotonic, isotonic?!?! These words bring on a new type of stress. This stress usually appears while you are handing over $300 and sitting down for your FP-C® Recertification Course | 100 Hour or CFRN board exam. Planning to take one of these certification tests? I can guarantee that you will have […]
How To Make Zombies: Part I
Advances in Cardiac Arrest Care The most critical call we have as EMS providers is the one with the worst outcomes. Cardiac arrest care has been much the same for quite a while, because it’s hard to measure what works in those cases, and care guidelines lag years behind new evidence. For instance, “Heads-up CPR” […]
How To Make Zombies: Part II
The Fun Stuff In Part 1, we looked at what happens to the body during a zombie apocalypse. Whoops, sorry, cardiac arrest. Impedance Threshold Devices and Heads-Up CPR were mentioned as being very effective in CPR, and it’s time to get to the fun stuff. I’m going to try really hard to not bore you […]
How To Make Zombies: Part III
Airways are Sexy I was at an airway lecture as a baby medic and the instructor said “Airways are sexy. It’s the sexiest, most badass thing we get to do.” Sounds goofy, but he was right: airways are sexy. So, we’ve talked about cardiac arrest physiology, ITDs, Heads-up CPR, and more. All that stuff […]