Severe Heat Stroke Resuscitation Using a Body Bag in a Community Emergency Department.

Heat stroke can lead to severe complications such as end-organ damage and death. The primary treatment modality for heat stroke is rapid cold-water immersion to lower the patient's body temperature. This typically requires a large bath to place the patient in, which may not be available in small or community emergency departments.

Detection of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion by Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department: A Case Series.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a rare, but serious, diagnosis that can lead to blindness, most often due to thromboembolic disease. In the emergency department (ED), CRAO can present as acute, painless loss of vision. Physicians need quick ways to rule in this diagnosis due to the time-sensitive nature of the event.

Emergency Medicine Resident Self-assessment of Clinical Teaching Compared to Student Evaluation Using a Previously Validated Rubric.

Purpose: The quality of clinical teaching in the emergency department from the students' perspective has not been previously described in the literature. Our goals were to assess senior residents' teaching ability from the resident/teacher and student/learner viewpoints for any correlation, and to explore any gender association. The secondary goal was to evaluate the possible impact of gender on the resident/student dyad, an interaction that has previously been studied only in the faculty/student pairing.

Correlation Between United States Medical Licensing Examination and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination Scores for Applicants to a Dually Approved Emergency Medicine Residency.

Background: It is important for emergency medicine (EM) residency programs to be able to correlate the United States (US) Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) scores of applicants.

Objective: We sought to determine the correlation between USMLE and COMLEX scores for EM residency applicants.

Methods: Retrospectively, from 2006 through 2013, USMLE and COMLEX examination scores for applicants to our 4-year, 56-member, dually approved EM residency were analyzed.

Using Milestones as Evaluation Metrics During an Emergency Medicine Clerkship.

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) Milestones presumes graduating medical students will enter residency proficient at Milestone level 1 for 23 skills. The Next Accreditation System now includes Milestones for each postgraduate specialty, and it is unlikely that schools will document every emergency medicine (EM) applicant's EM-specific skills in their performance evaluation.

Objectives: The goals of this research were to determine if assessment of the Milestones was feasible during a medical student clerkship and examine the proportion of medical students performing at Milestone level 1.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction vs. hypothermia-induced electrocardiographic changes: a case report and brief review of the literature.

Background: Diagnosed ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) usually prompts rapid cardiac catheterization response.

Objective: Our aim was to raise awareness that hypothermia can cause electrocardiographic (ECG) changes that mimic STEMI.

Case Report: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was called for altered mental status and lethargy in a 47-year-old man with a medical history of paraplegia.

I can't move my face! a case of bilateral facial palsy.

The authors present a case of bilateral facial palsy in a 52-year-old man. The patient presented to an emergency department in Pennsylvania, describing left-sided neck pain and headache from "sleeping wrong," symptoms which eventually progressed to facial diplegia by his fourth visit in 2 weeks. His admitting diagnosis was Bell palsy; he was ultimately tested for and found to have Lyme disease.

Training mothers in infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation with an instructional DVD and manikin.

Context: Classes in infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be time consuming and costly.

Objective: To determine whether mothers in an obstetric unit could learn infant CPR by using a 22-minute instructional kit and to assess the value and confidence they gained by learning CPR.

Design: Quasi-experimental study with enrollment between January and December 2008.

Using suboccipital release to control singultus: a unique, safe, and effective treatment.

Hiccups, or singultus, are the result of spontaneous and repetitive contractions of the diaphragm. In most cases, episodes of singultus are benign and self-limited. However, prolonged attacks can result in significant discomfort, morbidity, and even death.

Cognitive versus technical debriefing after simulation training.

Background: Recent literature describes "cognitive dispositions to respond" (CDRs) that may lead physicians to err in their clinical reasoning.

Objectives: To assess learner perception of high-fidelity mannequin-based simulation and debriefing to improve understanding of CDRs.

Methods: Emergency medicine (EM) residents were exposed to two simulations designed to bring out the CDR concept known as "vertical line failure.

Using simulation to instruct emergency medicine residents in cognitive forcing strategies.

Purpose: Recent literature defines certain cognitive errors that emergency physicians will likely encounter. The authors have utilized simulation and debriefing to teach the concepts of metacognition and error avoidance.

Method: The authors conducted a qualitative study of an educational intervention at Lehigh Valley Hospital during academic year 2002-03.