EMCrit Project

Methemoglobinemia is one of my favorite toxicology diagnoses.  The diagnosis can often be made at the bedside based on history and physical examination, which is a satisfying bit of detective work.  Once the diagnosis is made, patients generally respond promptly to a specific antidote (methylene blue).  And this isn’t just a parlor trick – diagnosis […]

preamble CRASH-3 is the latest massive, pragmatic multi-center RCT brought to us by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Trials Unit.  These investigators have created an extensive network of hospitals throughout the world with the capability of performing truly impressive trials.  Especially in the critical care arena, these trials have uniquely high power […]

Sometimes muggles criticize FOAM as lacking peer review, but that simply reflects a misunderstanding of the way peer review works here.  FOAMed operates off a post-publication peer review system.  This typically occurs mostly in the comments section of each blog or chapter (with some on twitter as well).  Unlike journals, anyone is free to leave […]

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is encountered uncommonly, but it is useful to have a general understanding of this.  Many etiologies can cause diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, with pulmonary vasculitis being perhaps the most widely feared.  This chapter explores how to sift through the differential diagnosis of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and, if vasculitis is suspected, how to initiate […]

Severe asthma is a challenging topic, because this spans a lot of different patient phenotypes with varying severity and physiology.  This chapter attempts to outline some general principles to guide management, but ultimately clinical judgement and serial evaluation at the bedside will trump all of this.  The rarity, acuity, and heterogeneity of severe asthma make […]