The use of tranexamic acid (TXA) has expanded with growing evidence in its use for a variety of clinical situations.  However, not all evidence is created equal and not all applications show benefit.  In this blog and podcast we discuss the various uses of TXA and the surrounding evidence.

TOTAL EM - Tools Of the Trade and Academic Learning in Emergency Medicine

Podcast #241 - TXA in the Prehospital Setting

For decades, there has been a major name debate regarding the appropriate title for PAs.  However, on May 24, 2021 the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) House of Delegates (HOD) came to a vote.  Over 100 possible titles were considered, but ultimately the winning vote was for "physician associate" which has led to a significant amount of discussion.  What is the history behind this decision and why now?  What has been the response?  We discuss this and more in this new blog and podcast.

Podcast #240 - PAs are Associates?

There are countless guides and references that can be used in emergency medicine.  However, some books prove to be better resources than others and it is vital to identify them.  In this post, we review one of the books you should seriously consider having if you work in emergency medicine.

Podcast #239 - Book Review: The Resuscitation Crisis Manual (RCM)

Last year, the American Heart Association (AHA) provided updates to their basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and pediatric advanced life support (PALS) programs.  Mike Sharma is helping again by reviewing some of the key updates and changes to guidelines.  We also provide some additional feedback and information to consider with these new guidelines.

Podcast #238 - AHA 2020 Updates for BLS, ACLS, and PALS

March is Women's History Month and we wanted to celebrate some of the accomplishments of women in medicine.  While there are countless women that could be mentioned, we wanted to focus on a few that have been seen as pioneers in medicine.

Podcast #237 - Celebrating Women in Medicine

Recently there was commentary in a forum that suggested the Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria (PERC Rule) was essentially useless for detecting a pulmonary embolism (PE).  It started with an anecdote, which is a logical fallacy (post hoc ergo propter hoc) and went wild from there.  This led to the realization that many still do not understand how to use the Wells' Criteria for Pulmonary Embolism (referred to from here simply as the Wells' Criteria) and the PERC Rule.

Podcast #236 - Understanding Wells' Criteria for Pulmonary Embolism and the PERC Rule

Injuries to the spine can occur both in blunt and penetrating trauma.  They can also be with or without neurological deficits.  For this reason, they should be considered in all patients with multiple injuries.  In this podcast, Chip Lange and Mike Sharma review the pearls and pitfalls of this disease process.

Podcast #235 - ATLS Episode 7: Spine and Spinal Cord Trauma (Chapter 7)

We are able to provide a sneak peak at some updated content with Practical POCUS.  Over the last few months, Practical POCUS has been working to improve its content with the plan to help further promote point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to a broader audience.  One audience in particular is with EMS.  This 10 minute video is an excerpt from the updated course worth 24 hours of CME.  Make sure  to check out PracticalPOCUS.com to learn more.

Podcast #234 - Pediatric Lung Exam Demonstration with EMS

A little while back, we asked for help on getting out more content.  David Wright and Kate Randolph answered that call and provided a special podcast on osteogenesis imperfecta.  We hope you enjoy this unique podcast and encourage you to reach out if you want to contribute, as well.

Podcast #233 - Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Neonatal sepsis can be subtle, especially early on.  It can rapidly progress to multisystem organ failure, meningitis, and death.  Given the real dangers of neonatal sepsis, we will focus on 10 key points to remember when evaluating for this lurking terror.

Podcast #232 - 10 Key Reminders to Avoid Missing Neonatal Sepsis

Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) was just discussed in our last podcast on head injuries.  However, we briefly mentioned how there is a certain amount of controversy on this subject.  This separate podcast is to act as a supplement to the Chapter 6 ATLS podcast on head trauma that was just covered.  We find this particularly important given how long our ATLS podcasts run in general.

Podcast #231 - Salt Vs Sugar: Hypertonic Saline Versus Mannitol for Elevated ICP

The newest Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) blog and podcast is here!  This time we talk about head trauma.  Get the key pearls and pitfalls as provided by Chip Lange and Mike Sharma.

Podcast #230 - ATLS Episode 6: Head Trauma (Chapter 6)

We received quite a bit of feedback with the last podcast and requests to discuss specifically the variants and their potential impacts on the current COVID-19 vaccines.  It is worth noting that at the time of this publication there is still limited data but we discuss the key concepts and takeaways with the current knowledge we have on the topic.

Podcast #229 - COVID-19 Variants and the Impact on Vaccinations

There have already been many podcasts discussing COVID-19 vaccines, so what makes this one different and worth listening to now?  This podcast is more about some of the key highlights and frequent questions asked to help listeners get the right resources and information.

Podcast #228 - A Primer to COVID-19 Vaccinations

We are back at it again with our newest ATLS podcast.  This time we are focusing on the abdomen and pelvis which can be host to a wide range of severe pathology.  Given its many intricacies, we focused most on the highlights from ATLS Chapter 5 including the key "red text" that it emphasizes. 

Podcast #227 - ATLS Episode 5: Abdominal and Pelvic Trauma (Chapter 5)

We are a FOAMED project devoted to providing TOTAL care everywhere. This is done by sharing the Tools Of the Trade and Academic Learning in Emergency Medicine (TOTAL EM). We believe in education for emergency medicine professionals and the public.

hubhopper

TOTAL EM - Tools Of the Trade and Academic Learning in Emerg...

hubhopper