To 2021 - Happy New Year
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Today’s EM-critical care post isn’t about a new study or a tip or trick, but a chance to look backward and forward.
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Lars-Kristofer Peterson, MD
Lets go to the replay
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Great teams review their performances. A recent publication from George Washington University used video of cardiac arrest resuscitations to generate educational interventions to minimize pulse checks during resuscitation.
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Cap Refill and Lactate
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A growing body of literature shows targeting capillary refill time is non-inferior to lactate clearance in sepsis resuscication.
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Post ROSC Care
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A patient is brought to the ED following a cardiac arrest. ROSC is achieved 1 minute after arrival to the ED. What treatments should the ED physician provide to allow the best outcomes?
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I'm sorry to wake you up but...
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Its 3am in the ED and you need to call a consult. What strategies can you use to get great care for your patients and be a good colleague?
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Another take on balanced crystalloids vs. saline
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It’s a familiar call ahead to the ED - an adult patient who is febrile, hypotensive, with suspicion towards infection. While setting up the room, the patient’s bedside nursing team asks if you’d like them to get saline or lactated Ringer’s (LR) ready for resuscitation. You wonder if there’s any new evidence examining the use of saline versus balanced crystalloids in the emergency department.
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Pressors and Fluids - Not either/or but both/and
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It's a typical day in the ED. You are asked to see your next patient who is a 60 year old male, recently discharged from the hospital after being treated for cellulitis presenting with abdominal pain and diarrhea. He’s tachycardic and hypotensive to 75/40. The patient is mentating well. After taking a more thorough history your differential diagnosis narrows in on intra-abdominal sepsis associated with significant volume losses. The lactate returns at 6. On volume assessment by physical exam and POCUS, the patient is significantly volume down. You know that getting the antibiotics and fluids on board is the cornerstone of treatment, but they will take some time to be given. You wonder if you should temporize your resuscitation with pressors during the time it takes for the fluids and antibiotics to be administered.
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Crucial Conversations in the ED
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EMS calls ahead with reports of an adult patient in respiratory distress. They are concerned the patient will need to be intubated on arrival. Recognizing the name, you pull up a previous chart and review the patient’s history. You realize this is their 10th presentation this year and on reviewing their most recent oncology note you note their oncologist has recommended they consider hospice due to end stage malignancy without further treatment options. The patient arrives, is in distress, and does not have capacity but can be temporized by NIPPV while decision making occurs. Their power of attorney comes to the hospital soon after but states they never got around to establishing an advanced directive. How should you approach this conversation?
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The Furosemide Stress Test
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You admitted a 72 year old male to the ICU for septic shock from community acquired pneumonia. He required intubation and mechanical ventilation for failure to improve oxygenation with NIPPV and encephalopathy. He received broad spectrum antibiotics and a 30 cc/kg crystalloid bolus. His MAP was persistently in the 50s despite adequate fluid resuscitation and based on your exam he does not appear hypovolemic. Norepinephrine is started and despite adequate MAP he is oliguric. His only medical history is he was a previous smoker with COPD, HTN, HLD but normal renal function with a Cr of 0.8 two months prior. His Cr on admission is 2.2 and a foley is placed and his UA shows granular casts. He is not acidotic and his electrolytes are normal.
You are concerned this patient is heading towards renal replacement therapy. He is adequately fluid resuscitated and has a MAP above 65 on a vasopressor but is still not making urine and has signs of ATN on urinalysis. Renal replacement therapy is an invasive procedure and has associated risks. If a patient has a chance to have renal recovery with a more conservative approach then this should be considered. You wonder if there is a diagnostic test which can be used to assess the potential for renal recovery.
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NIPPV in Hypoxic Respiratory Failure
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A 56 year old male comes to the ED via EMS after noting progressive dyspnea and fever. In the field, the EMS team notes the patient is hypoxic with an SPO2 of 85%. Despite the low oxygen saturation, he is only using minimal accessory muscles and he is alert and oriented. His chest X-ray shows a right lobar pneumonia and he is requiring 6LNC oxygen to maintain a saturation greater than 90%. You know there is significant guideline evidence to support the use of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) for COPD and CHF exacerbations, but what about patients with other causes of hypoxia such as pneumonia?
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