PulmCrit (EMCrit)

Let’s be honest, necrotizing fasciitis is a perennial source of errors.  This is a difficult diagnosis to make.  It can be tedious to continually maintain a high level of suspicion for it, but suspicion and early diagnosis are critical. The IBCC chapter is located 👉 here. The podcast & comments are below. Follow us on […]

Sympathomimetic intoxication is increasingly common (e.g., with increasing use of methamphetamine).  Although this is a classic topic in toxicology, recent controversy has surrounded the optimal therapy for acute intoxication (benzodiazepines vs. antipsychotics).  This chapter will attempt to provide a general approach to sympathomimetics, recognizing that in many cases it may be impossible to determine precisely […]

Malignant hyperthermia is a rare diagnosis, but nonetheless one worth being aware of.  Very rarely, malignant hyperthermia may be triggered by succinylcholine, causing it to present initially in the emergency department or ICU.  Far more often, malignant hyperthermia will be diagnosed in the operating room – with intensivists involved in providing follow-up care. The IBCC […]

We obtain coagulation labs on nearly every critically ill patient.  However, our understanding of these labs remains relatively superficial.  Meanwhile, the addition of thromboelastography (TEG) has rendered matters even more complex, by providing an alternative strategy for monitoring coagulation.  This chapter attempts to sift through a rational approach to coagulation labs, but much work remains […]

We are seeing an increased volume of alcoholic liver disease due to the COVID pandemic.  Previously admissions to ICU for alcoholic hepatitis were rare, but these are now occurring with regularity. The IBCC chapter is located 👉 here. The podcast & comments are below. Follow us on iTunes