OK THRILL-SEEKERS, IT’S QUIZ TIME AGAIN! Here are 3 visual questions for you. The answers are below each question. QUESTION 1 A 19 yo man is brought to the emergency department following a syncopal episode whilst playing basketball. His only history is of two previous episodes of syncope. The was no chest pain, no shortness [...] Read More »
THE ‘SCALPEL-FINGER-TUBE’ METHOD HOT OFF THE PRESS! The February edition of Emergency Medicine Australasia (2012) 24, 23-30 has a case series of surgical cricothyrotomies. 24 cases are described by two operators(anaesthetists) over 19 years. In the Advanced Airway workshop, I teach a different approach, but lets see what was written and then discuss. In this [...] Read More »
It’s 2pm on a Saturday and the regular crowd shuffles in. Sorry that’s a Billy Joel song. It’s 2pm on a Saturday and a 23 year old male presents after being struck in the eye by a squash ball. You quickly look and it’s a ……….HYPHAEMA. A hyperaemia is defined as blood in the anterior [...] Read More »
This is the case: A 28 year old male presents with atypical chest pain, shortness of breath and a feeling of general muscular aches and pains. His ECG is as follows: In this ECG, there is ST elevation in the inferior and anterior leads. What do you think? What are [...] Read More »
The local GP calls you as the admitting officer of a rural emergency department and tells you he has a patient who has: Lower back pain, Numbness in both feet and Impotence The GP has performed a CT this morning from L1 down, which was normal. You advise the GP that you think the diagnosis is cauda equina [...] Read More »
I was considering writing a blog on the patient who presents post hanging, when I had a patient with this presentation come in today. The classical understanding of hanging as it was used as a form of capital punishment, was really a form of decapitation. The result of was a fracture of the upper cervical [...] Read More »
Here’s the case: An 80 year old male is brought in by ambulance. GCS = 3, spontaneously breathing, laryngeal mask in place. Normally well man, past medical history of diabetes and hypertension. Following dinner that evening, his wife heard him call out. He said he couldn’t see and then lost consciousness. According to the ambulance, when [...] Read More »
A 24 year old male presents following a syncopal episode. On cardiovascular examination you believe there is a systolic murmur. Given his history and a family history of his father having a ‘large’ heart, you are suspicious of cardiomyopathy. How can you assess on clinical examination if the murmur is that of cardiomyopathy? I know [...] Read More »
As I sit here after a fantastic Christmas Day and I think of all the things I’m grateful for in this last 12 months, I write to thank you all for your continued commitment to excellence and learning. I thank you for the opportunity to teach and for the time you give to read the [...] Read More »
Hi everyone. I wanted to spend a few moments on supracondylar fractures in children as this is one fracture that seems to be missed, when it’s not obvious and when first reading the Xray. It’s actually a pretty straightforward view of the elbow joint. The only catch is that the elbow must be at right [...] Read More »
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