Category LITFL
Postcards from the edge LITFL 340

Emergency Medicine Training in LDCs

aka Postcards from the Edge 009 This ‘Postcard from the Edge’ highlights a talk given by Dr Chris Curry at ACEM2011 conference in Sydney. Chris discusses the development of emergency medicine training in LDCs (Least Developed Countries), using the examples…

LITFL CCC SMILE2 340

Cognitive Rigidity

Cognitive rigidity, or fixation, is holding onto initial explanations despite the subsequent accumulation of contrary evidence (Klein, 2011)

Metabolic-Muddle-LITFL-Clinical-340 256

You can beat the feeling

It’s a busy night shift in the ED (as always) and one of the Interns comes to present a case to you. He’s seen a 23 yr old female who has presented with lethargy and weakness. While you're listening to the Intern your phone rings — it's the lab calling to tell you the patient’s potassium is 1.9 mmol/L.

Metabolic-Muddle-LITFL-Clinical-340 256

Hypernatraemia and Acidosis

A 20 year old male presents with 3 days of lethargy and generalised malaise. He is confused and looks very unwell. Can sort out this metabolic muddle?

Metabolic-Muddle-LITFL-Clinical-340 256

Staph Sepsis Acidosis

You are asked to review a 73 year old lady who is in hospital for treatment of septic arthritis affecting a prosthetic right hip joint inserted 5 years earlier.

Metabolic-Muddle-LITFL-Clinical-340 256

Waxing and Waning Weakness

A 50 year old Chinese female presents with severe weakness. She has a history of previous similar episodes that self-resolved. What's going on?

Metabolic-Muddle-LITFL-Clinical-340 256

Could it be renal colic?

Consider a 65 year-old male presenting with right-sided flank pain radiating to the groin. The following CT scan was taken to confirm a presumed diagnosis of renal colic:

LITFL CCC SMILE2 340

The trouble with mindfulness

Don’t get me wrong, mindful practice, self-reflective practice should all be encouraged. The trouble with mindfulness is when it’s prescribed as the sole solution to a cognitive error....