When Should You Stop Using Chest Tubes?

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, Events, Featured, King Tube, Medical General, medical procedures
More Tags – central line placement, chest tube placement, E-FAST, featured procedure, HPC updates, intraosseous line placement, intubation, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, POCUS, RUSH Exams, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, Vascular access
Thoracostomy or the insertion of chest tubes (CTs) is a frequent procedure in clinical practices. After inserting chest tubes in the patient’s pleural cavity, they become a route for administering antibiotics, sclerosing agents, fibrinolytics, and saline.  Meanwhile, indwelling pleural catheters…
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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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Conscious Sedation. What It Is, When to Apply It, and the Latest Updates

concious-sedation
Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, Events, Hospital Procedures, King Tube, Laryngeal Mask Airway, Medical General, medical procedures, Procedural Sedation
More Tags – central line placement, chest tube placement, E-FAST, featured procedure, HPC updates, intraosseous line placement, intubation, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, POCUS, RUSH Exams, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, Vascular access
Conscious sedation, also known as procedural sedation, is a common practice in emergency departments for patients undergoing painful or anxiety-provoking procedures.  It is intended as a less invasive method. Generally, those who undergo this type of sedation can recover more…
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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, 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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Live CME Course vs Online CME Course. Which One to Choose?

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Central line, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, Events, FAST Exam, Intraosseous line, King Tube, Lumbar Puncture, Medical General, medical procedures, Paracentesis, RUSH Exam, Thoracentesis
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
A Continuing Medical Education (CME) Course is designed for doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician associates and other healthcare professionals who want to learn more about certain topics in medicine.  The primary goal of CME is to improve the quality of…
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Looking To Work in the ER? Here Are Its Benefits, Challenges, and What To Expect

emergency
Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Central line, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, Endotracheal Intubation, Events, FAST Exam, Featured, Intraosseous line, King Tube, Lumbar Puncture, medical procedures, Paracentesis, RUSH Exam, Thoracentesis
More Tags – central line placement, E-FAST, featured, HPC updates, intubation, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, RUSH Exams, thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, Vascular access
The emergency room (ER) is an essential area of any hospital because it often deals with life-and-death situations. How medical personnel respond significantly affects the prognosis of patients who are in need of urgent care.  As a medical professional, experience…
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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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Simulation Based Training for Central Venous Catheters

Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement
Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Central line, Events, Featured Procedure, medical procedures
More Tags – central line, Central line insertion, central line placement, central venous catheter, featured procedure, HPC updates, Simulation Based Training; Central Line Training
Does Simulation Based Training Improve Central Line Success Rates? Simulation-based procedural training has become increasingly popular in academic medical centers and among medical trainees.  Limited data has suggested that simulation based training improves success rates and safety, but evidence has…
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How to Prevent and Manage Malpositioned Central Lines

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Central line, Events, Featured, Infections, Medical General, medical procedures
More Tags – central line, central line complications, Central line insertion, central line malpositioning, featured, femoral lines, HPC updates, IJ lines, Simulation Based Training; Central Line Training, subclavian lines
Malpositioned central venous catheters occurs in about 7% of central line placements. A malpositioned central line is any central venous catheter where the tip is located anywhere other than the superior vena cava (SVC) for internal jugular lines or subclavian…
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Simulation Based Training for Central Venous Catheters

Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement
Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Central line, Events, Featured Procedure, medical procedures
More Tags – central venous catheter, featured procedure, HPC updates, Simulation Based Training; Central Line Training
Does Simulation Based Training Improve Central Line Success Rates? Simulation-based procedural training has become increasingly popular in academic medical centers and among medical trainees.  Limited data has suggested that simulation based training improves success rates and safety, but evidence has…
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Rapid Ultrasonography in Shock: A Lifesaving ED Tool

Dr. Rick Rutherford, M.D., FAAFP
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, Events, Featured Procedure, medical procedures, Paracentesis, RUSH Exam
More Tags – featured procedure, HPC updates, RUSH Exams
Rapid Ultrasonography in Shock:  Is this really useful? Caring for patients with undifferentiated hypotension, causes anxiety for most health care providers.  This is natural.  Fear, however, must not lead to hesitation or poor decision-making.  Therapies chosen early in shock disproportionately…
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Rapid Ultrasonography in Shock: A Lifesaving ED Tool

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Events, Featured Procedure, medical procedures
More Tags – featured procedure, HPC updates, RUSH Exams
Rapid Ultrasonography in Shock:  Is this really useful? Caring for patients with undifferentiated hypotension, causes anxiety for most health care providers.  This is natural.  Fear, however, must not lead to hesitation or poor decision-making.  Therapies chosen early in shock disproportionately…
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Avoid Routine Lab Testing in Clinically Stable Hospitalized Adults

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Events, Featured, Hospital Procedures, medical procedures
More Tags – daily lab testing, featured, HPC updates
The Society of Hospital Medicine in collaboration with the Choosing Wisely organization has advocated against routine daily lab testing for hospitalized adults since September 2013.  At that time SHM wrote, “Hospitalized patients frequently have considerable volumes of blood drawn (phlebotomy)…
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Las Vegas Conference 2017

Hospital Procedure Consultants
More Articles – Events, Gastrointestinal diseases, Hospital Procedures, Medical General, Travel
More Tags – Bellagio, conference, hospitalist, HPC, Las Vegas, Miracle Mile Shops, Planet Hollywood, travel blog
Landed in Las Vegas for Our Conference at the Amazing Planet Hollywood Resort and Hotel. It was great to see all the familiar faces and many new ones from across the country. Enjoyed walking along the trendy shops and playing the…
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