Tag Archive

Nearly 200,000 patients are admitted to the hospital each year in the United States for acute asthma exacerbations.  Approximately 2% of patients are intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation. In-hospital mortality is nearly 100 times higher when a patient with acute asthma exacerbation is intubated.  Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation is well known to improve outcomes for patients with an acute …

Accurate assessment of intravascular volume is critical in managing sick patients in the emergency department or intensive care unit.   In this podcast we discuss a recently published article that evaluates clinical exam, radiographic, point-of-care ultrasound, and laboratory findings in the assessment of intravascular volume overload.

Each year, hundreds of articles are published that pertain to the resuscitation and care of critically ill emergency department patients. In this podcast, we review the key articles from the 2025 emergency medicine, resuscitation, and critical care literature that pertain to the care of critically ill ED patients.

More than 600,000 patients in North America sustain sudden cardiac arrest each year.  When return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is achieved, there are a number of critical interventions to consider in order to provide the patient with the best chance of being discharged with meaningful neurologic survival.  In this podcast, we discuss an excellent recent review article on the management …

Emergency physicians intubate critically ill patients daily.  Unfortunately, up to 17% of ED intubations can be complicated by peri-intubation hypoxemia, hypotension, and cardiac arrest. Efforts to optimize patient’s physiology prior to rapid sequence intubation are critical in mitigating the risk of potentially disastrous peri-intubation complications.  In this podcast, we discuss a recent Clinical Policy from the American College of Emergency …

Oxygen is one of the most used, and misused, therapies delivered to critically ill patients.  In recent years, a number of trials have compared the use of a conservative oxygen therapy strategy with a liberal oxygen therapy strategy.  These trials have produced mixed results and the optimal oxygen strategy for critically ill patients remains unknown.  In this podcast, we discuss …

Critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation require analgesia and sedation.  At present, propofol remains the most widely used sedative for intubated/ventilated patients.  Recent trials have suggested that dexmedetomidine may reduce delirium and the duration of mechanical ventilation compared with other sedative medications.  In fact, recent SCCM guidelines suggest the use of dexmedetomidine over propofol in intubated patients.  In this podcast, …

Approximately 75% of patients older than 65 years of age are seen in an ED within 6 months of their death.  While palliative care teams are now present in many hospitals in the US, they are often not present 24/7 or in resource-limited settings.  As such, there may be an opportunity to improve palliative care in the ED by providing …

Sepsis results in more than 250,000 deaths each year in the United States. Resuscitation of the septic patient centers on timely recognition, early antibiotic administration, appropriate fluid administration, source control, and vasopressor administration for those with inadequate mean arterial pressures. At present, norepinephrine is the recommended first-line vasopressor for sepsis.  Current guidelines then recommend vasopressin as the second-line vasopressor agent, …

Nearly 4 million patients sustain out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) worldwide each year.  International guidelines for the resuscitation of patients with OHCA recommend early administration of epinephrine in those with an initial nonshockable rhythm.  Both intravenous (IV) and intraosseous (IO) access are routinely attempted to gain vascular access to administer medications.  While IV access is recommended, this is based on very …