Oral anticoagulant medications are commonly prescribed. Whether it is a traditional vitamin K antagonist (VKA) or a novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) medication, all carry the risk of serious hemorrhage. Traditional…
ACE inhibitors, such as captopril and enalaprilat, the active metabolite of enalapril, occupy the enzyme as false substrates. Affinity significantly influences efficacy and rate of elimination. Enalaprilat has a stronger and longerlasting effect than does captopril.
Work-up for lower abdominal pain begins with resuscitation and exclusion of critical diagnoses: AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm); Mesenteric Ischemia; Perforation; SBO (small bowel obstruction); ectopic pregnancy
Sodium bicarbonate is an important antidote in the treatment of the critically ill poisoned patient. This contrasts with the general approach to acidosis due to other conditions, where sodium bicarbonate…
The term Calcium (Ca2+) antagonist is applied to drugs that inhibit the influx of Ca2+ ions without affecting inward Na+ or outward K+ currents to a significant degree. Other labels are Ca-entry blocker or Ca-channel blocker.
Begin work-up by ruling out emergent/urgent conditions and evaluating/charting the absence of red flags that can signal the presence of an emergent condition. Then consider other visceral causes of low back pain. If no red flags are present and patient does not need further work-up, then the likely default diagnosis is benign mechanical (lumbar strain) Low Back Pain
Risk factors for Aortic Aneurysm: smoking, male sex, age, pre-existing atherosclerosis, obesity, Hyperlipidemia, HTN (Hypertension), Family History
The distribution of blood within the circulation is a function of vascular caliber. Venous tone regulates the volume of blood returned to the heart, hence, stroke volume and cardiac output.…
Abdominal Compartment Syndrome occurs when elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), or, intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH), leads to new organ dysfunction. The incidence of abdominal compartment syndrome in the ED has not been reported, but in studies of trauma patients, the incidence is between 1% and 14%.
SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is Inflammatory response to a non-infectious insult (pancreatitis, burn, surgery…)