Diagnosis and Management of Amanita Phalloides Toxicity in the Emergency Department Observation Unit: A Case Report.

Introduction: Mushroom toxicity is an important etiology of acute liver injury in a patient with gastrointestinal symptoms. Case Report: We present the case of a male patient presenting to the emergency department (ED) with gastrointestinal distress who was placed under ED observation for elevated liver function tests. During his hospital course, it was revealed he had consumed wild mushrooms believed to be Amanita phalloides. Conclusion: While mushroom ingestion and subsequent toxicity are rare, a high index of suspicion in foraging hobbyists is essential to arriving at the correct diagnosis and directing the patient to the appropriate management.

Evaluation of blood glucose changes with regular versus rapid-acting insulin for hyperglycaemia management in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: As emergency department (ED) visits secondary to hyperglycaemia increase, goals should focus on optimising treatment to minimise the length of stay (LOS). Both regular and rapid-acting insulins can effectively treat hyperglycaemia, but have different pharmacokinetic profiles. The purpose of this study is to compare blood glucose (BG) reduction over time in patients receiving subcutaneous regular versus rapid-acting insulin in the ED. METHODS: This retrospective chart review from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 included adult ED patients with a BG ≥200 mg/dl who received subcutaneous regular insulin or insulin aspart. The primary endpoint was a change in BG immediately before and ≥30 min after insulin administration over time. RESULTS: There were 279 patients included in the study (108 regular insulin and 171 insulin aspart). Change in BG over time was 41.5 mg/dl/h in the regular insulin group and 47 mg/dl/h in the insulin aspart group (P = 0.36). There was no difference in hypoglycaemic events, ED LOS, time from insulin administration to discharge and total change in BG during ED stay. Patients who received regular insulin required less additional insulin doses (8.3% vs. 18.1%, P = 0.02), received a greater volume of intravenous fluids (1629 ml vs. 1280 ml, P = 0.02) and higher weight-based dose for the first insulin dose (0.11 units/kg vs. 0.10 units/kg, P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in BG reduction between insulin types for hyperglycaemic patients treated in the ED. This suggests that regular insulin and rapid-acting insulin have similar efficacy in the treatment of hyperglycaemia in the ED.

UpdatED: The emergency medicine pharmacotherapy literature of 2022.

The purpose of this article is to summarize pharmacotherapy related emergency medicine (EM) literature indexed in 2022. Articles were selected utilizing a modified Delphi approach. The table of contents from pre-determined journals were reviewed and independently evaluated via the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system by paired authors, with disagreements adjudicated by a third author. Pharmacotherapy-related publications deemed to be GRADE 1A and 1B were reviewed by the group for inclusion in the review. In all, this article summarizes and provides commentary on the potential clinical impact of 13 articles, 4 guidelines, and 3 meta-analyses covering topics including anticoagulant reversal, tenecteplase in acute ischemic stroke, guideline updates for heart failure and aortic aneurysm, magnesium in atrial fibrillation, sedation in mechanically ventilated patients and pain management strategies in the Emergency Department (ED), and tranexamic acid use in epistaxis and GI bleed.

The Emergency Medicine Pharmacotherapy Literature of 2021.

This article highlights the most relevant emergency medicine (EM) pharmacotherapy publications indexed in 2021. A modified Delphi approach was utilized for selected journals to identify the most impactful EM pharmacotherapy studies via the GRADE system. After review of journal table of contents GRADE 1A and 1B articles were reviewed by authors. Twenty articles, 2 guidelines, 2 position papers, and 2 meta-analysis were selected for full summary. Articles included in this review highlight acute agitation management, acute appendicitis treatment, sexually transmitted infection updates, optimizing sepsis management and treatment, updates for the ideal thrombolytic agent in acute ischemic stroke and endovascular therapy candidates, indications for tranexamic acid, calicium for out of hospital cardiac arrest, optimial inotrope for cardiogenic shock, awareness during rapid sequence intubation paralysis, comparison of propofol or dexmedetomidine for sedation, treatment of cannabis hyperemsis syndrome, and prophylactic use of diphenhydramine to reduce neuroleptic side effects. Selected articles are summarized to include design, results, limitations, conclusions and impact.

Staying InformED: Top emergency Medicine pharmacotherapy articles of 2020.

The year 2020 was not easy for Emergency Medicine (EM) clinicians with the burden of tackling a pandemic. A large focus, rightfully so, was placed on the evolving diagnosis and management of patients with COVID-19 and, as such, the ability of clinicians to remain up to date on key EM pharmacotherapy literature may have been compromised. This article reviews the most important EM pharmacotherapy publications indexed in 2020. A modified Delphi approach was utilized for selected journals to identify the most impactful EM pharmacotherapy studies. A total of fifteen articles, eleven trials and four meta-analyses, were identified. This review provides a summary of each study, along with a commentary on the impact to the EM literature and EM clinician.