Pem Currents

Pop goes the apophysis! In teenage athletes the apophyseal cartilage is the weak point along the pelvic rim. Learn about these common injuries in this edition of PEM Currents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine podcast. Find more great educational content at PEMBlog Follow me on Twitter @PEMTweets References Kocher MS, Tucker R. Pediatric athlete hip disorders. R.Clin Sports … Continue reading "Pelvic Avulsion Fractures"

Acute Flaccid Myelitis is a rare but serious disease characterized by rapid onset of muscle weakness. Diagnosis also requires an MRI with lesions in multiple spinal levels or CSF pleocytosis. cases have been reported over the past several years and though a specific cause is unknown strains of enterovirus are suspected culprits. Check out more … Continue reading "Acute Flaccid Myelitis"

With summer pool season in full swing allow me to freestyle a little on a common topic that many Emergency Departments and Urgent Cares seem to be swimming in every summer. This episode of PEM Currents dives right into Otitis  Externa – AKA Swimmer’s Ear and reviews diagnosis and treatment. If you were treading water … Continue reading "Otitis Externa"

Kawasaki Disease, AKA Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome, is one of the most common vasculitides of childhood. The hallmark is fever ≥5 days plus 4/5 of the following; mucous membrane changes, conjunctivitis, polymorphous rash, extremity changes and lymph node enlargement. It can also lead to coronary artery aneurysms, which is why its so important to make … Continue reading "Kawasaki Disease"

OK, so this is the least exciting topic in Pediatric Emergency Medicine… With that being said, you will all see it. And we need to be good at looking at ears, diagnosing acute otitis media, and appropriately choosing when and which antibiotic to prescribe. Follow @PEMTweets on Twitter References Karma PH, et al., Pneumatic otoscopy … Continue reading "Acute Otitis Media"

To tell you the tooth you’ll probably see quite a few kids with dental related complaints in the Pediatric Emergency Department. This can range from cavities to invasive infections. Brush up on all things dental infections in this episode of PEM Currents. And yes, those puns were intentional. I must’ve flossed my mind! PEMBlog Briefs: … Continue reading "Dental Infections"

You don’t need a flu test to diagnose the flu! But there are situations where rapid antigen testing or PCR is valuable. Listen to this episode of PEM Currents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine podcast, to learn more about the test characteristics of common assays and when to obtain testing when prevalence rates for the flu … Continue reading "Testing for Influenza"

Hyperkalemia is more than just peaked T-waves on an EKG. Learn why an elevated serum potassium level can put patients in the danger zone and how to acutely manage patients in a goal directed manner. Check out more great educational content on PEMBlog.com Follow me on Twitter @PEMTweets

I’m sure that you’ll probably see a case of bronchiolitis this winter. Call it a hunch. In this episode of PEM Currents you’ll learn why suctioning and ensuring hydration are still the mainstays of therapy, and why albuterol, racemic epinephrine, steroids and more don’t have a place in routine cases. And if you read any … Continue reading "Bronchiolitis"

This episode of PEM Currents, featuring Preston Dean – @prestonndean on Twitter, a senior Pediatric Resident at Cincinnati Children’s, is about all things Rapid Sequence Intubation. You’ll learn about equipment, techniques, drugs and more! PEMBlog.com

Fever, tachypnea and rales – it must be a community acquired pneumonia… right? Learn more about the diagnosis and management of this common problem in the Pediatric Emergency Department. Essential Reading Bradley JS, Byington CL, Shah SS, Alverson B, Carter ER, Harrison C, Kaplan SL, Mace SE, McCracken GH Jr, Moore MR, St Peter SD, … Continue reading "Community Acquired Pneumonia"

Ventricular CSF shunts are very common – many kids have them. The most common complications are malfunction and infection. This episode of PEM Currents reviews the basics and how you can assess for complications in CSF shunts in kids. PEMBlog.com Boyle, Kimia, Nigrovic. Validating a Clinical Prediction Rule for Ventricular Shunt Malfunction. Pediatric Emergency Care, 2017. … Continue reading "CSF Shunt Complications"

Vocal cord dysfunction, AKA paradoxical vocal fold motion is more common than you might think. Patients often present to the Emergency Department in respiratory distress and “wheezing.” Learn about the diagnosis itself, different phenotypes and what treatment options are out there. References Christopher KL, Wood RP 2nd, Eckert RC, Blager FB, Raney RA, Souhrada JF. Vocal-cord dysfunction … Continue reading "Vocal Cord Dysfunction"

Get ahead of your peers and listen to this episode of PEM Currents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine podcast where you’ll learn all about the management of acutely elevated intracranial pressure. You’ll learn about common maneuvers such as optimizing the ABCs, Keeping the head elevated and midline as well as thermoregulation. I also discuss osmotic therapies … Continue reading "Management of Elevated ICP"

Don’t hold you breath while listening to this podcast – because you’d be doing so for longer than 20 seconds – and you will have apnea. Do however, listen to learn more about cyanotic and pallid breath holding spells so that you can be prepared to diagnose and manage them in the Emergency Department. Check … Continue reading "Breath Holding Spells"

What does the combination of erythema multiforme, fever and swollen joints equal? If you answered a visit to the Emergency Department you’re only partially correct. Serum sickness like reaction is a delayed type hypersensitivity reaction that often occurs 7-10 days after starting a course of antibiotics. Learn how you can recognize it and differentiate it … Continue reading "Serum sickness"

It’s an epidemic! OK, so not quite, but we are seeing a rise in the number of kidney stones recently and we’re not quite sure why. This episode of PEMCurrents will focus on diagnosis and treatment of stones and answer such questions as; Which pain medicine should I order first? and which is the better imaging … Continue reading "Kidney Stones"

Check out the latest episode of PEM Currents the Pediatric Emergency Medicine podcast where I talk about hemorrhagic (AKA ruptured) ovarian cysts. I delve into diagnosis and management and suggest strategies for obtaining a diagnostic ultrasound. Check out more great educational content on PEMBlog.com

Ben Kerrey is a rising star in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and is the point man for an ongoing initiative at Cincinnati Children’s centered around improving safety and limiting complications during rapid sequence intubation. I recently sat down with Ben to talk about the state of RSI in pediatric patients, the difference between a checklist and a … Continue reading "Interview with Ben Kerrey about Pediatric Rapid Sequence Intubation"

This edition of PEM Currents is a bite-sized rundown on rabies, or more accurately rabies post-exposure prophylaxis since most of you will never see it clinically, but will encounter a kid who meets an unscrupulous animal.