A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line refers to a type of central line that is used for long-term vascular access in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Choosing Wisely campaign recommends…
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Central line insertion can be a complicated process that requires proper training to minimize procedural risks. One of its most important aspects is the proper positioning of the patient during the procedure to ensure safety and success. Patients may also…
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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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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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What is conscious sedation? 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…
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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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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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There are two myths that have persisted about thoracentesis and pleural fluid analysis that must be dispelled. The first myth is that a large volume thoracentesis should not remove more than 1,500 mL fluid due to the risk of re-expansion…
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Thoracentesis is one of the most common bedside procedures performed in U.S. hospitals.  There are about 173,000 thoracenteses performed each year in the U.S.  A systematic review and meta-analysis in 2010 concluded that thoracentesis-related pneumothorax occurs 6% of the time…
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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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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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A patient with a hemodynamically stable spontaneous pneumothorax can be managed as an outpatient using the placement of a small-bore pigtail catheter attached to a Heimlich valve.   As the Director of Medicine at a teaching hospital, I frequently encounter…
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COVID-19 pneumonia can be a frustrating infection to treat because we have limited medications that have proven benefit in moderate-severe infections. Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who require up to 2L/min supplemental oxygen have at least moderate infection. Patients with severe…
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