Emergency Medical Minute

• Episode 981: Electrical Burns

  Contributor: Travis Barlock, MD Educational Pearls: Quick Statistics on Electrical Burns: Electrical burns compose roughly 2 to 9% of all burns that come into emergency departments. The majority of patients who receive electrical burns are male, typically aged 20's to 30's, accounting for 80 to 90% of all electrical burn victims. The majority of burns are linked to occupational exposure. The upper extremities are more commonly impacted by electrical burns, accounting for 70 to 90% of entry points into the body during an exposure. What are some of the key considerations in electrical burns? Unlike chemical or fire/heat related burns, electrical burns have the potential to cause significant internal damage that may not be physically appreciated externally. This damage can include, but is not limited to: Cardiac dysthymias (PVCs, SVT, AV block, to more serious ventricular dysrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia). Deep tissue injury resulting in rhabdomyolysis from the initial surge of electricity Rare cases of compartment syndrome What are the treatment considerations for patients who suffer electrical burns? Remembering that cutaneous findings associated with burns may underestimate the severity of the injury, with deeper structures being more likely to be involved as the voltage of the burn injury is directly correlated to severity. Manage the patient's airway, breathing, and circulation as always, and conduct further workup into potential cardiac involvement with EKGs, as well as analysis of the extremities where entry occurred for muscle breakdown and compartment syndrome. Clinical Pearl on Voltage and Current: Voltage can be thought of being equivalent to pressure in a fluid/liquid system. Higher voltages are equivalent to higher pressures, but the ultimate damage delivered to the system is from the rate of delivery/speed of the electrical energy surging (current) through the body. Current is dependent on the tissue it is travelling through, with different tissues having differing electrical resistances. Tissues like the stratum corneum of the skin and the human bone confer the most resistance (thus lower current) whereas skeletal muscle confers lower electrical resistance (thus higher current) due to water and electrolyte content, which is why injuries like rhabdomyolysis are possible and increase with increasing voltage. References Khor D, AlQasas T, Galet C, et al. Electrical injuries and outcomes: A retrospective review. Burns. 2023;49(7):1739-1744. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2023.03.015 Durdu T, Ozensoy HS, Erturk N, Yılmaz YB. Impact of Voltage Level on Hospitalization and Mortality in Electrical Injury Cases: A Retrospective Analysis from a Turkish Emergency Department. Med Sci Monit. 2025;31:e947675. doi:10.12659/MSM.947675 Karray R, Chakroun-Walha O, Mechri F, et al. Outcomes of electrical injuries in the emergency department: epidemiology, severity predictors, and chronic sequelae. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2025;51(1):85. doi:10.1007/s00068-025-02766-1 Faes TJ, van der Meij HA, de Munck JC, Heethaar RM. The electric resistivity of human tissues (100 Hz-10 MHz): a meta-analysis of review studies. Physiol Meas. 1999;20(4):R1-10. doi:10.1088/0967-3334/20/4/201 Summarized by Dan Orbidan, OMS2 | Edited by Dan Orbidan and Jorge Chalit, OMS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate

  --------  

  3:41

  --------

  3:41
• Tox Talks 2025 Recap 1, Digoxin and Beta Blockers

  Contributors: Preeya Prakash MD, Adam Greenhaw PharmD, Travis Barlock MD, and Jeffrey Olson MS4 In this episode, cardiologist Preeya Prakash and medical student Jeffrey Olson listen in as two cases are presented from EMM's recent event, Tox Talk 2025.  Talk 1- Digoxin Overdose Dr. Adam Greenhaw presents a case of a Digoxin overdose along with many pearls. During the studio listen in, Dr. Prakash helps to answer the questions of: How does digoxin work? Why might a patient still be on digoxin in 2025? What are the EKG findings of digoxin toxicity? Is there any utility in atropine for bradycardia caused by digoxin? Should you use calcium to treat hyperkalemia in the setting of a digoxin overdose? If/when might a cardiologist get involved in a patient with a digoxin overdose? Talk 2- Propranolol Overdose Dr. Travis Barlock presents a case of a beta blocker overdose as well as many associated pearls. During our studio listen in, Dr. Prakash helps to answer the questions of: What are the different beta blockers and how do they work? If you are worried about a propranolol overdose, what medications do you want on hand? What POCUS cardiac view can give you the most information for different scenarios? Why or why not might transcutaneous or intravenous pacing be a good idea for a beta blocker overdose? If/when might you want a cardiologist to get involved in a patient with a beta blocker overdose? References Alahmed AA, Lauffenburger JC, Vaduganathan M, Aldemerdash A, Ting C, Fatani N, Fanikos J, Buckley LF. Contemporary Trends in the Use of and Expenditures on Digoxin in the United States. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2022 Sep;22(5):567-575. doi: 10.1007/s40256-022-00540-x. Epub 2022 Jun 24. PMID: 35739347; PMCID: PMC10263277. Chan BS, Buckley NA. Digoxin-specific antibody fragments in the treatment of digoxin toxicity. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2014 Sep-Oct;52(8):824-36. doi: 10.3109/15563650.2014.943907. Epub 2014 Aug 4. PMID: 25089630. Hack JB, Wingate S, Zolty R, Rich MW, Hauptman PJ. Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Management of Digoxin Toxicity. Am J Med. 2025 Jan;138(1):25-33.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.08.018. Epub 2024 Sep 11. PMID: 39265879. Krenz JR, Kaakeh Y. An Overview of Hyperinsulinemic-Euglycemic Therapy in Calcium Channel Blocker and β-blocker Overdose. Pharmacotherapy. 2018 Nov;38(11):1130-1142. doi: 10.1002/phar.2177. Epub 2018 Oct 4. PMID: 30141827. Patocka J, Nepovimova E, Wu W, Kuca K. Digoxin: Pharmacology and toxicology-A review. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2020 Oct;79:103400. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2020.103400. Epub 2020 May 7. PMID: 32464466. Rotella JA, Greene SL, Koutsogiannis Z, Graudins A, Hung Leang Y, Kuan K, Baxter H, Bourke E, Wong A. Treatment for beta-blocker poisoning: a systematic review. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2020 Oct;58(10):943-983. doi: 10.1080/15563650.2020.1752918. Epub 2020 Apr 20. PMID: 32310006. Produced by Jeffrey Olson, MS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/

  --------  

  57:21

  --------

  57:21
• Episode 980: Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG)

  Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Traumatic Brain Injuries are a frequent complaint in the Emergency Department and have increased in recent years. The American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) has created Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG), in an attempt to categorize brain injuries and the level of treatment they require. They are… BIG 1 Normal neuro exam Not intoxicated Not on anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications Minimal findings on head CT No fracture Maximum of "trace" subarachnoid hemorrhage No intraventricular hemorrhage                             Monitor for 6 hours No need to repeat the head CT No need to consult neurosurgery BIG 2 Normal neuro exam Not on anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications Any of the following Intoxicated Slightly more findings on head CT Non-displaced skull fracture 4-8 mm bleed (subdural, epidural, intraparenchymal (max two locations)) Maximum of "localized" subarachnoid hemorrhage No intraventricular hemorrhage     Hospitalize No need to transfer No need to repeat the head CT No need to consult neurosurgery BIG 3 Abnormal neuro exam On anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications Intoxicated Significant findings on head CT Displaced skull fracture >8 mm bleed (subdural, epidural, intraparenchymal (or more than 2 locations)) "Scattered" subarachnoid hemorrhage Intraventricular hemorrhage     Full treatment, admission to trauma center, neurosurgery evaluation References Joseph B, Friese RS, Sadoun M, Aziz H, Kulvatunyou N, Pandit V, Wynne J, Tang A, O'Keeffe T, Rhee P. The BIG (brain injury guidelines) project: defining the management of traumatic brain injury by acute care surgeons. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014 Apr;76(4):965-9. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000000161. PMID: 24662858. Joseph B, Obaid O, Dultz L, Black G, Campbell M, Berndtson AE, Costantini T, Kerwin A, Skarupa D, Burruss S, Delgado L, Gomez M, Mederos DR, Winfield R, Cullinane D; AAST BIG Multi-institutional Study Group. Validating the Brain Injury Guidelines: Results of an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma prospective multi-institutional trial. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2022 Aug 1;93(2):157-165. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003554. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PMID: 35343931. Summarized by Jeffrey Olson, MS4 | Edited by Jeffrey Olson and Jorge Chalit, OMS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/

  --------  

  3:17

  --------

  3:17
• Episode 979: Oral vs Temporal Thermometers

  Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: A recent study published in a pediatric journal in April 2025 compared temporal and oral thermometers Paired temperature measurements (temporal and oral temperature within 30 minutes) were obtained from 1,412 pediatric patients 26% of patients had statistically different temporal and oral temperatures The temporal reading was always lower than the oral reading Children less than 12 years old were 2-3x more likely to actually have that statistical difference in temperatures The study also evaluated 1,000 adult patients 36% had a temporal temperature that was 0.5 degrees Celsius lower than the oral temperature Reasons for the statistical difference between the two types of thermometers: Environment: temporal thermometers are affected by ambient room temperature, diaphoresis, and inaccuracy in measuring temperature at the site of the temporal artery Physiologic: a patient with inadequate perfusion will not have an accurate temporal reading Impact: Obtaining an accurate temperature is crucial in patient care For example, in the setting of sepsis, temperature is a necessary component to identifying when a patient meets SIRS criteria References Salhi RA, Meeker MA, Williams C, Iwashyna TJ, Samuels-Kalow ME. Inaccuracy of Temporal Thermometer Measurement by Age and Race. Acad Pediatr. 2025 Apr;25(3):102620. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2024.102620. Epub 2024 Dec 15. PMID: 39681266. Summarized by Meg Joyce, MS2 | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/

  --------  

  3:13

  --------

  3:13
• Episode 978: Delusional Parasitosis

  Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: Delusional parasitosis is a subtype of the psychiatric condition delusional disorder Defined as a fixed, false belief of infestation by parasites or other organisms A somatic type of delusional disorder Primary delusional parasitosis Occurs in the absence of other psychiatric or medical conditions Secondary delusional parasitosis Causes include methamphetamine use disorder, schizophrenia, neurologic diseases, or medical conditions such as thyroid disease Pathophysiology Poorly understood Upregulation of striatal dopamine system is implicated Management Form a strong therapeutic alliance and do not discredit the patient immediately Perform a full physical exam This helps reassure the patient and strengthen the therapeutic alliance Some day there may be a patient in whom this is not a delusion Treatment & Management Discontinuation of substances if substance-induced Antipsychotic medications like risperidone or olanzapine References Lepping P, Russell I, Freudenmann RW. Antipsychotic treatment of primary delusional parasitosis: systematic review. Br J Psychiatry. 2007;191:198-205. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.029660 Moriarty N, Alam M, Kalus A, O'Connor K. Current Understanding and Approach to Delusional Infestation. Am J Med. 2019;132(12):1401-1409. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.06.017 Skelton M, Khokhar WA, Thacker SP. Treatments for delusional disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;2015(5):CD009785. Published 2015 May 22. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009785.pub2 Summarized and Edited by Jorge Chalit, OMS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/

  --------  

  3:55

  --------

  3:55

Más podcasts de Educación

Podcasts a la moda de Educación

Acerca de Emergency Medical Minute