Trauma
The primary survey in trauma management follows this acronym, which stands for airway, breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure.
What is ABCDE?
"Snow on the Trees" (radiopaque tablets on KUB), refractory hypotension and widened QRS suggests this lethal overdose.
What is calcium channel blocker overdose?
When traditional intubation proves challenging during a code, this supraglottic airway device can be rapidly deployed as an alternative.
" What is an LMA".
During resuscitation for refractory cardiac arrest, a patient exposed to rare rodenticide exhibits profound coagulopathy complicating advanced cardiopulmonary support. The toxins long half-life necessitates prolonged vitamin K therapy.
"What is superwarfarin (brodifacoum) poisoning".
In a child with respiratory distress and a large pleural effusion, this procedure provides both diagnostic fluid sampling and therapeutic relief by removing excess fluid from the chest cavity.
" What is thoracentesis?"
In trauma this term describes the " golden hour", the critical time for initiating definitive care following a traumatic injury.
What is the first hour?
Or platinum 10 minutes?
A patient with severe metabolic acidosis (anion gap), visual disturbances, and possible blindness may have ingested this toxic alcohol.
What is methanol?
When faced with cardiac arrest secondary to life-threatening hyperkalemia, this agent is administered to protect the myocardium by stabilizing the cardiac cell membranes.
"What is calcium (gluconate or chloride)?
Following accidental exposure in an industrial setting, a patient develops profound bradycardia and sedation with unusual ECG disturbances. This case, involving a chemical used in specific manufacturing processes, is attributed to inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase.
"What is hydrogen sulfide poisoning".
When minimizing the risk of respiratory depression during sedation for a painful pediatric procedure, this monitoring procedure is essential as the sedation itself.
"What is continuous capnography monitoring".
This life-threatening condition can result from massive hemorrhage, characterized by coagulopathy, hypotension, and metabolic acidosis.
What is traumatic coagulopathy or the "death triad".
Hyperthermia, Rigidity, autonomic instability, and altered mental status-think of this life-threatening serotonin syndrome mimic.
What is malignant hyperthermia (or neuroleptic malignant syndrome, NMS)?
For a patient in refractory VF or pulseless VT after multiple defibrillation attempts, this antiarrhythmic is recommended as a second -line drug.
"What is amiodarone".
A patient presents with persistent cyanosis unresponsive to oxygen, along with chocolate colored blood. This rare toxin interferes with hemoglobin's ability to carry oxygen, resulting in a high-pitched saturation gap.
"What is methemoglobinemia from nitrite exposure".
For painful procedures like laceration repair or fracture reduction in children, this dissociative agent is a popular choice due to its rapid onset and preservation of airway reflexes.
"What is Ketamine sedation."
This type of fracture often results from a direct blow to the lateral aspect of the knee and is classified as a type of knee injury.
What is a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) injury?
Sinus Tachycardia+ Brugada like ECG (ST, elevation in V1-V3)- this local anesthetic toxicity can be fatal.
What is bupivacaine toxicity?
In cases of pulseless electrical activity (PEA), the reversible causes of arrest are enumerated using this mnemonic, which reminds clinicians to consider various metabolic, mechanical, and toxicologic etiologies.
"What are the Hs and Ts?
A patient presents after ingesting a traditional herbal remedy containing aconite. The ECG reveals bizarre arrhythmias with features resembling both sodium-channel blockade and QT prolongation- a pattern rarely seen outside of toxicology exposures.
" What is aconitine poisoning"?
When standard intubation techniques fail in a small child with a critical airway obstruction, this emergent needle-based procedure is preferred over a surgical cricothyroidotomy due to pediatric anatomical considerations.
"What is needle cricothyroidotomy (transtracheal needle ventilation)?"
This classification system, commonly used for open fractures, helps guide treatment based on the extent of soft tissue injury, contamination, and fracture pattern.
What is the Gustilo-Anderson classification?
QT prolongation + Torsade's de Pointes- think of this antiemetic or antibiotic.
What is ondansetron or macrolides (e.g., erythromycin)?
For arrest secondary to life-threatening hyperkalemia, aside from calcium, this medication is used to drive potassium back into cells.
"What is insulin".
A patient who lives on a farm is brought in after an accidental ingestion of a herbicide notorious for causing irreversible pulmonary fibrosis and high mortality. Though uncommon in North America, this scenario is a dreaded scenario worldwide.
"What is paraquat poisoning".
For a pediatric patient in respiratory distress due to severe airway edema, this procedure can be employed to safely remove the object.
"What is rigid bronchoscopy for foreign body removal"?