Basic Management of Refractory Ascites: Part 1

refractory ascites
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Featured, Hospital Procedures
More Tags – life expectancy with ascites, refractory ascites life expectancy, refractory ascites symptoms, what is refractory ascites
Ascites is the accumulation of free fluid in the peritoneal cavity and can occur as a complication of a scarred liver, otherwise known as cirrhosis. While ascites is treated according to its underlying root cause, refractory ascites poses a bigger…
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Emergency Airway: Definition, Risks, and Techniques

Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, Featured
More Tags – Emergency Airway Procedure, emergency FONA, emergency surgical airway, FONA
If a patient’s airway is compromised during a life-threatening situation, prompt and effective intervention is crucial. This includes front-of-neck access (FONA) emergency airway, or cricothyroidotomy. Also known as cricothyrotomy, it is a specialized procedure that creates emergency access to the…
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Clinical Uses of POCUS for Emergency and Hospital Clinicians

clinical uses of pocus
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, Featured, Hospital Procedures, medical procedures, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a revolutionary diagnostic method that helps enhance physical examination at the point of care, that is, the patient’s bedside. Clinicians can use this tool to quickly diagnose medical conditions and guide treatment or bedside procedures, including…
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Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department

Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, FAST Exam, Featured, medical procedures, RUSH Exam
More Tags – POCUS, pocus in emergency, pocus training, Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department
Ultrasound technology has revolutionized the medical industry and provided physicians with the ability to visualize internal tissue and organs in real time. Advancements and changing trends in medical technology have also seen smaller and more affordable ultrasound machines cropping up…
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eFAST Exam: An Evaluative Tool for Trauma

efast exam
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, FAST Exam, Featured, King Tube, Medical General, RUSH Exam
More Tags – Diagnostic Accuracy of eFAST, eFAST Exam, eFAST in Trauma
Injury causes over 150,000 deaths per year in the U.S. and over 5 million worldwide.  Around 80% of these traumatic injuries are blunt, with incidences of fatality secondary to hypovolemic shock and intraperitoneal bleeds. Fatalities can be prevented if professionals…
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How Hospitals Can Tap into the Power of Emergency Medicine PAs

emergency medicine PA
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Arterial line, Central line, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, FAST Exam, Featured, Lumbar Puncture, Medical General, Paracentesis, Procedural Sedation, Thoracentesis
More Tags – emergency medicine PA
Delays to hospital inpatient admission in excess of five hours from arrival at an Emergency Department (ED) lead to a mortality rate of 8.71%. This increases by another 8% in cases where admission is delayed beyond six to eight hours. …
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Evaluation and Management of Infants With Fever

Infants With Fever
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, Featured, Lumbar Puncture, Medical General
More Tags – AAP’s guide, lumbar punctures in childrens, lumbar punctures in kids
Fever can be a serious complication in infants aged three months or younger.  Immediate medical intervention is necessary to treat the possible infection, although clinical evaluation can be quite a conundrum. This is because there’s no way of knowing what…
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Peripheral Administration of Vasopressors and Their Safety

Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Central line, Emergency Procedures, Featured, medical procedures, Needle Decompression, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV
More Tags – PIV vasopressor administration, vasopressor administration, vasopressor administration in critical care, vasopressor administration through peripheral intravenous
While vasopressors are typically administered through a central venous catheter (CVC), peripheral intravenous (PIV) administration is becoming more common in clinical practice. The safety of this administration method is now well-established and is a good alternative to CVC placement for…
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Brachial Arterial Catheterization and Its Low Risk of Complications

Radial arterial line training
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Arterial line, Cardiovascular diseases, Emergency Procedures, Featured
More Tags – arterial sheath vs arterial line, artery catheterization, brachial and radial artery, Brachial arterial catheterization, brachial sheath, Brachial vs Radial Blood Pressure, main brachial artery, radial cardiac catheterization complications
Brachial arterial catheterization is widely chosen for constant blood pressure and hemodynamic monitoring in critically ill patients. It provides real-time measurements of physiologic parameters with a very low incidence of associated risks or complications. In this article, we will revisit…
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Role of Ultrasound in Lumbar Punctures

lumbar-punctures
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Emergency Procedures, Events, Featured, King Tube, Laryngeal Mask Airway, Lumbar Puncture, Medical General, medical procedures, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV
More Tags – central line placement, chest tube placement, E-FAST, featured, HPC updates, intraosseous line placement, intubation, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, POCUS, RUSH Exams, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, Vascular access
For procedures involving lumbar punctures , sonographically guided lumbar punctures (SGLPs) have a higher propensity of being chosen when dealing with obese patients. This is based on findings of a randomized controlled trial conducted in 2007. The main takeaway from…
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Basic Emergency Procedures You Should Know

emergency procedures - small
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Arterial line, Cardiovascular diseases, Central line, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, Events, FAST Exam, Intraosseous line, King Tube, Laryngeal Mask Airway, Lumbar Puncture, Mechanical Ventilation, Medical General, medical procedures, Needle Decompression, Paracentesis, Procedural Sedation, RUSH Exam, Thoracentesis, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV
More Tags – central line placement, chest tube placement, E-FAST, emergency medicine procedures, er procedures, featured procedure, HPC updates, intraosseous line placement, intubation, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, POCUS, RUSH Exams, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, Vascular access
Physicians, physician associates (PAs), and nurse practitioners (NPs) need to be adept in a range of essential medical emergency procedures that they must perform in an inpatient settings. These bedside procedures are accomplished readily, but only if you have the…
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The Case for Simulation Based Training for Bedside Hospital Procedures

Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, Events, FAST Exam, Featured, King Tube, Laryngeal Mask Airway, Lumbar Puncture, Mechanical Ventilation, Medical General, medical procedures, Paracentesis, Thoracentesis
More Tags – E-FAST, featured, HPC updates, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, POCUS, RUSH Exams, Simulation Based Training; Central Line Training, simulation-based procedural training, thoracentesis, Vascular access
For decades the mantra for procedural education in medicine has been “see one-do one-teach one”.  Those of us who learned bedside procedures and point-of-care ultrasound by this model understand that this approach does not optimize safe and competent performance.   At…
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