LITFL Update 069
Sending you free open-access medical (FOAM) content from around the globe. We keep an eye on all the trends and best articles and share them with you so that you stay top of your field.
AI Scribes for Clinical Practice: Artificial Intelligence (AI) scribes are landing in hospitals and clinics faster than the evidence to support them. This article covers how they work, where they currently fall short, and what every clinician needs to know.
Foreign Body Pulmonary Embolisation: A 36-year-old woman had an Implanon NXT device inserted into her left upper arm. For the preceding month, she had been unable to palpate the implant. A chest X-ray was performed to assess for distant migration.
W. Wayne Babcock: William Wayne Babcock Jr (1872-1963) was an American surgeon, educator, and surgical innovator. His name is attached to a diverse group of eponymous terms, including the Babcock operation for varicose veins.
Latest updates from the #FOAMed world
When your septic patient isn’t improving on fluids and norepinephrine, or your “cardiogenic” patient worsens with inotropes — the classic four-category model lets you down. This deep-dive from RECAPEM introduces a unified four-interface haemodynamic framework and the Forrester-Kenny diagram to find the weakest link and treat the physiology, not just the label.
Think influenza means fever? Think again. This eye-opening case series from CHEO describes six children with lab-confirmed influenza who all presented hypothermic — some with myositis, autonomic instability, or co-infection, others looking deceptively well. A must-read reminder that a low temperature in flu season shouldn’t be reassuring — it might be a red flag.
Not all syncope is vasovagal — and the ECG might be the clue that changes everything. This NUEM Blog post walks through the high-risk ECG findings you can’t afford to miss in a syncopal patient: AV blocks, Brugada, WPW, ARVC, HCM, and QT abnormalities. With expert commentary from Northwestern EM, it’s a sharp, practical read.
When direct pressure fails and suturing isn’t an option, knowing your haemostatic agents can make all the difference. This emDocs EM@3AM post breaks down the key players — TXA, QuikClot, HemCon, Surgicel, and XSTAT — covering how each works, when to reach for it, and the evidence behind it. A quick, practical read that’s worth having in your back pocket.
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Emergency nurse with ultra-keen interest in the realms of toxicology, sepsis, eLearning and the management of critical care in the Emergency Department | LinkedIn |
BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |
