Many paramedics argue strongly for including nitroglycerin paste as an arrow in their pharmacologic quiver when treating acute congestive heart failure. Baffles me. True, you don’t need to break the seal of the CPAP to give it, and you don’t need to use an IV. But this medication hardly belongs in the emergency department, let […]

Today is July 11 and I have not had a drink in 30 days. Some of you may know that my mother suffers from advanced dementia and requires round-the-clock care. She is on hospice and I have been out on FMLA leave helping with her care (which is why I missed SMACC in Chicago). This time […]

True fact: I failed out/dropped out of grad school in mathematics. But despite having little enthusiasm for topology or complex analysis, nothing drives me more nuts than people who say stuff like “I’m not good at math – just not a math person, I guess.” This attitude is not just incorrect, it’s harmful. Most mathematics […]

This is the conclusion to our latest case, 59 Year Old Male: Unwell. I suggest starting there and reviewing the scenario before diving into this discussion. I was glad to see our latest case generated quite a bit of debate. This is a difficult tracing coupled with an equally difficult clinical scenario, so it wasn’t […]