Amiodarone has long held the position as the preferred antiarrhythmic medication in the patient presenting with hemodynamically stable wide-complex tachycardia. Its popularity so universal that other antiarrhythmic medications, like procainamide, have found themselves marginalized to a dusty corner in the medications we used last century closet. Despite its claims of superiority, which are often stated […]
PulmCrit – Treatment of hemodynamically stable new-onset AF in critical illness
. Introduction with a clinical question . A 50-year-old woman with no prior medical problems was admitted to Genius General Hospital with severe influenza pneumonia and acute kidney injury. She was transferred to the ICU and treated with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen support. Over time she gradually improved with decreasing oxygen requirements and improving renal […]
EMCrit Podcast 20 – The Crashing Atrial Fibrillation Patient
Your patient is pale and diaphoretic. Blood pressure is 70/50. Heart rate is 178. EKG shows atrial fibrillation… What are you going to do???
Yeah, yeah the Pavlovian ACLS response–You cardiovert. Wonderful, except it didn’t change a thing. Now what?
In this episode, I discuss the crashing atrial fibrillation patient.