January 2018

There was no difference in 90-day mortality among critically ill, intubated patients with septic shock who received hydrocortisone 200mg IV daily and those who did not.  Shock resolved one day faster in the steroid group.

Know the laws in your state and hospital policies that govern what your responsibility is in regard to working with law enforcement.

There was no advantage to giving IV acetaminophen for pain in the ED over oral.

Broad spectrum vs narrower spectrum antibiotics for routine pediatric respiratory infections were not more effective and were associated with an increased rate of complications.

Paramedics responding to elderly patients who had fallen in an assisted living facility followed a protocol that included discussing the case with the patient's primary care physician (PCP).  This drastically reduced the number actually getting transported to the ED by 63% and was safe.

Gun shows in Nevada were associated with more firearm related violence in nearby California.  Whereas gun show in California did not correlate with increased gun violence locally.  Authors concluded that this may have been due to stricter gun laws in California.

The combination of videolaryngoscopy (VL) and Bonfils rigid intubation endoscope (BIE) was an excellent way to safely intubate patients with extremely difficult airways.

Ketofol vs ketamine alone had the advantage of fewer unpleasant emergence reactions and less post-procedural vomiting.

Patients may still have opiate abuse or dependence even if they have no prescriptions recorded on a public controlled substance database.

Cuffed endotracheal tubes (ETT) had better ventilation characteristics and fewer complications during routine surgery than uncuffed.