The St.Emlyn’s Podcast
#FOAMed
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
Ep 122 - Beyond ALS with Salim Rezaie at #stemlynsLIVE
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
Wednesday Nov 28, 2018
Salim Rezaie from the REBEL EM podcast takes us through the optimal management of cardiac arrest and also explores some of the controversies and difficulties that make the difference to our patients.
You can read a lot more about the background to this talk, see the evidence and watch the video on the St Emlyn's site. Just follow this link. https://www.stemlynsblog.org/beyond-acls-salim-rezaie-at-stemlynslive/
Thursday Dec 06, 2018
Thursday Dec 06, 2018
Five strategies to improve your resuscitations.
1. Zero point survey
2. Peer review
3. 10 in 10
4. Hot debriefs
5. Fly the patient
You can read about these strategies, watch the video and learn about the background on the St Emlyn's blog here https://www.stemlynsblog.org/stemlynslive-five-free-strategies-to-improve-your-resuscitation-practice-st-emlyns/
Sunday Dec 16, 2018
Sunday Dec 16, 2018
This podcast was recorded at the Intensive Care Society State of the Art meeting in London 2018. Simon Carley interviews Prof Peter Brindley on the interface of technology, humans and humanity in critical care. The audio was recorded live and at the venue so there is a fair bit of background noise, but we hope that this does not distract from a wide ranging and fascinating podcast.
Sunday Dec 23, 2018
Ep 125 - November 2018 Round Up
Sunday Dec 23, 2018
Sunday Dec 23, 2018
November was a busy month for the St Emlyn's team with a variety of blogs on conferences, EBM, philosophy and education. Here's the podcast and the links to the blogs mentioned in November.
FeminEM part 2 with Natalie May https://www.stemlynsblog.org/fix18-part-two/
FeminEM part 3 with Natalie May https://www.stemlynsblog.org/fix18-part-three/
Dan Horner on the POLAR trial of hypothermia in brain injury https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-hypothermia-in-brain-injury-the-polar-trial-st-emlyns/
Zaf Qasim on whole blood in trauma https://www.stemlynsblog.org/whole-blood-in-trauma-st-emlyns/
Nick Smith on Cognitive Load theory https://www.stemlynsblog.org/education-theories-you-should-know-cognitive-load-theory-st-emlyns/
Claire Bromley on her experience on elective in Cape Town https://www.stemlynsblog.org/south-africa-as-a-medical-student-elective-claire-bromley/
Natalie May on why resuscitation is not sexy https://www.stemlynsblog.org/so-unsexy/
Learning in the social age with Simon Carley https://www.stemlynsblog.org/learning-in-the-social-age-st-emlyns-at-emerge10/
Salim Rezaie on Advanced ACLS - beyonfd the guidelines https://www.stemlynsblog.org/beyond-acls-salim-rezaie-at-stemlynslive/
Monday Dec 31, 2018
Ep 126 - December 2018 Round Up
Monday Dec 31, 2018
Monday Dec 31, 2018
This is the monthly round up of blogs from the St Emlyn's team
Tribalism with Ross Fisher https://www.stemlynsblog.org/breaking-down-tribalism-onetribeemta-st-emlyns/
Conservative management of chest trauma https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-conservative-management-of-chest-trauma-st-emlyns/
ICS SOA day 1 https://www.stemlynsblog.org/st-emlyns-on-tour-icssoa2018/
Handover principles https://www.stemlynsblog.org/handover-process-practice-and-controversy-icssoa2018-st-emlyns/
ICS SOA day 2 https://www.stemlynsblog.org/icssoa2018-day-2-st-emlyns-on-tour/
ICS SOA day 3 https://www.stemlynsblog.org/icssoa2018-day-3-st-emlyns-on-tour/
FeminEM part 4 https://www.stemlynsblog.org/fix18-part-four/
PEP, PEPSE and HIV https://www.stemlynsblog.org/pep-prep-and-all-things-hiv-st-emlyns/
Game of Thrones https://www.stemlynsblog.org/ste-journal-club-a-christmas-games-of-thrones-issue/
Wednesday Jan 30, 2019
Wednesday Jan 30, 2019
This is a really important concept developed by Charlie Reynard and Rick Body here in Manchester. There is an accompanying paper in the EMJ that you can read via this link https://emj.bmj.com/content/34/12/A870
This concept could radically change how we make probabilistic prescribing decisions in the ED. Have a listen and look out for a blog post on St Emlyn's soon.
Sunday Feb 17, 2019
Ep 129 - January 2019 Round Up
Sunday Feb 17, 2019
Sunday Feb 17, 2019
The latest blog posts, ideas and thoughts from the St Emlyn's podcast. This month with Simon Carley and Rick Body,
Saturday Feb 23, 2019
Ep 130 - Critical Appraisal Nuggets: p-values
Saturday Feb 23, 2019
Saturday Feb 23, 2019
Part of the critical appraisal nuggets series. You can read more here https://www.stemlynsblog.org/cans-critical-appraisal-nuggets-st-emlyns/
Also mentioned in this podcast
1. Definition of p-values on the bottom line https://www.thebottomline.org.uk/blog/ebm/p-value/
2. Fragility index https://lifeinthefastlane.com/ccc/fragility-index/
3. Confidence interval https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_interval
Friday Mar 15, 2019
Ep 131 - South African Emergency Medicine with Kat Evans at #stemlynsLIVE
Friday Mar 15, 2019
Friday Mar 15, 2019
Last year we were honoured to bring Kat Evans to Manchester to talk at the #stemlynsLIVE conference. We've covered emergency medicine in South Africa before on the blog, but there is no substitute to hearing about it from someone who actually works there.
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Ep 132 - Aortic Emergencies with George Wills at #stemlynsLIVE
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Back in late 2018 we gathered in Manchester for the inaugural #stemlynsLIVE conference. Our friend Dr George Wills gave a great talk on Aortic Emergencies.
All emergency physicians know that it's all to easy to miss an aortic catastrophe. Listen to George's wisdom on common pitfalls and top tips to make you a better emergency clinician.
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Also check out these excellent #FOAMed resources.
Subscribe to the blog (look top right for the link)
Subscribe to our PODCAST on iTunes
Follow us on twitter @stemlyns
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Find out more about the St.Emlyn’s team
Saturday Apr 13, 2019
Ep 133 - February 2019 Round Up
Saturday Apr 13, 2019
Saturday Apr 13, 2019
Our regular monthly round up of the best of the blog from Feb 2019.
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Ep 134 - March 2019 Round Up
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Here’s our regular monthly round up of the best of the blog from March 2019
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Ep 135 - April 2019 Round Up
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Here is the latest from the St Emlyn's team
Friday Jun 07, 2019
Ep 138 - Traumatic Cardiac Arrest with Prof Jason Smith RN
Friday Jun 07, 2019
Friday Jun 07, 2019
This is the podcast that accompanies the recent blog post on Jason's latest research on traumatic cardiac arrest and closed chest compressions. This discussion is more wider ranging and explores how the management of TCA has changed, and is changing as we begin to gain a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms underpinning our resuscitation strategies.
Read the blog here. http://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-should-we-use-chest-compressions-in-traumatic-cardiac-arrest-st-emlyns/
Key references
Closed chest compressions reduce survival in an animal model of haemorrhage-induced traumatic cardiac arrest.Watts S, Smith JE, Gwyther R, Kirkman E. Resuscitation. 2019 May 9;140:37-42. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2019.04.048. [Epub ahead of print]
Paediatric traumatic cardiac arrest: the development of an algorithm to guide recognition, management and decisions to terminate resuscitation. Vassallo J, Nutbeam T, Rickard AC, Lyttle MD, Scholefield B, Maconochie IK, Smith JE; PERUKI (Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland). Emerg Med J. 2018 Nov;35(11):669-674. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2018-207739. Epub 2018 Aug 28.
5.
Paediatric traumatic cardiac arrest: a Delphi study to establish consensus on definition and management. Rickard AC, Vassallo J, Nutbeam T, Lyttle MD, Maconochie IK, Enki DG, Smith JE; PERUKI (Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland). Emerg Med J. 2018 Jul;35(7):434-439. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2017-207226. Epub 2018 Apr 28.
The outcome of patients in traumatic cardiac arrest presenting to deployed military medical treatment facilities: data from the UK Joint Theatre Trauma Registry. Barnard EBG, Hunt PAF, Lewis PEH, Smith JE. J R Army Med Corps. 2018 Jul;164(3):150-154. doi: 10.1136/jramc-2017-000818. Epub 2017 Oct 6.
Smith JE, Rickard A, Wise D. Traumatic cardiac arrest. J R Soc Med. January 2015:11-16. doi:10.1177/0141076814560837
May N. Traumatic Cardiac Arrest. St Emlyn’s. http://www.stemlynsblog.org/traumatic-cardiac-arrest/. Published 2012. Accessed 2019.
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Ep 139 - May 2019 Round Up
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Our regular monthly round up, this month with Ian and Simon chatting through the best of the blog.
The power of peer review: https://www.stemlynsblog.org/smacc2019-the-power-of-peer-review/
Virtual reality in PED: https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-virtual-reality-for-distraction-from-paediatric-procedural-pain/
Wellbeing for the broken: https://www.stemlynsblog.org/wellbeing-for-the-broken-part-3-the-podcast-st-emlyns/
Traumatic cardiac arrest https://www.stemlynsblog.org/wellbeing-for-the-broken-part-3-the-podcast-st-emlhttps://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-should-we-use-chest-compressions-in-traumatic-cardiac-arrest-st-emlyns/
Should we cardiovert AF in the ED or wait? https://www.stemlynsblog.org/should-we-rapidly-cardiovert-af-in-the-ed-st-emlyns/
Prolonged field care in the ED https://www.stemlynsblog.org/prolonged-field-care-in-the-ed/
Keppra or Phenytoin for status epilepticus in kids https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-enter-sandman-which-agent-as-second-line-in-paediatric-status-epilepticus/
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Ep 140 - GI emergencies with Chris Gray at #stemlynsLIVE
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
This is Chris's talk from #stemlynsLIVE on GI emergencies. Remember to check out the blog for the background, references and more.
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Ep 141 - June 2019 Round Up
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Here's our regular round up of the blog and podcast from June 2019.
Beyond ATLS https://www.stemlynsblog.org/beyond-atls-with-alan-grayson-at-stemlynslive-st-emlyns/
Traumatic Cardiac Arrest https://www.stemlynsblog.org/traumatic-cardiac-arrest-tca-podcast-with-prof-jason-smith-rn-st-emlyns/
The psychological impact of emergency medicine https://www.stemlynsblog.org/how-events-in-emergency-medicine-impact-doctors-psychological-well-being-st-emlyns/
Can we use IO aspirate for analysis https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-can-we-really-use-io-blood-for-analysis-st-emlyns/
Don't forget the Bubbles conference and site https://dontforgetthebubbles.com/
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Ep 142 - Psychological performance in the Resus Room with Ashley Liebig
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
This talk focuses on how we can optimise our psychological performance in critical care situations, the type of situations that Simon describes as Time Critical, Information light. The Audio is available below, or watch the full presentation above.
Don't forget to watch the video on the St Emlyn's site http://www.stemlynsblog.org
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Saturday Aug 31, 2019
Ep 143 - The Future of Diagnostics with Rick Body
Saturday Aug 31, 2019
Saturday Aug 31, 2019
Prof. Rick Body is an internationally recognised expert in diagnostic testing. In this podcast he takes us through diagnostics today and also the near future which may change almost everything.
You can read more and see the slides/video at http://www.stemlynsblog.com
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Ep 144 - July 2019 Round Up
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
The best from the blog and podcast in July 2019.
JC: Clot’s the Problem? Vena Cava filters in trauma patients. St Emlyn’s
Psychological performance in the resus room. Ashley Liebig at #stemlynsLIVE
JC: The Resuscitative Care Unit. St Emlyn’s
The great day paradox. St.Emlyn’s
All you need to know about Listeria. St Emlyn’s.
GI Emergencies – Chris Gray at #StEmlynsLIVE
Similar challenges, different approaches – Mass Casualty Incident training lessons from Pakistan. St Emlyn’s
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Ep 145 - The UK Resuscitationist with Dan Horner at #stemlynsLIVE
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Our latest podcast from the #stemlynsLIVE conference last year. Dan Horner talks on the concept and potential role of the UK Resuscitationist.
Saturday Oct 05, 2019
Ep 146 - European Resus Council meeting Slovenia 2019
Saturday Oct 05, 2019
Saturday Oct 05, 2019
A vox pop round up of the best of the ERC19 conference in Slovenia.
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Ep 147 - August 2019 Round Up
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Our regular round up of the best and the brightest from the St Emlyn's blog. This is a round up of our August content.
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Ep 148 - CRASH-3
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Monday Oct 14, 2019
See more on the blog here https://www.stemlynsblog.org/jc-tranexamic-acid-txa-in-head-injury-the-crash-3-results-st-emlyns/
Saturday Nov 02, 2019
Ep 149 - September 2019 Round Up
Saturday Nov 02, 2019
Saturday Nov 02, 2019
Our regular round up of the best of the blog from September 2019. A fairly quiet month for us, but some great content including a fabulous video from Cliff Reid on the Zero Point survey and on a related resus note, the concept of the UK resuscitationist with Dan Horner.
Saturday Dec 07, 2019
Ep 151 - October 2019 Round Up
Saturday Dec 07, 2019
Saturday Dec 07, 2019
Our regular review of the best of the blog from October 2019
Monday Dec 23, 2019
Ep 152 - November podcast round up on St Emlyn's
Monday Dec 23, 2019
Monday Dec 23, 2019
The latest from the St Emlyn's blog
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Ep 154 - January 2020 Round Up
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Iain is back on the podcast with Simon to talk through the best of the blog from January 2020.
Saturday Mar 14, 2020
Ep 155 - Covid-19 Podcast from Italy with Roberto Cosentini March 2020
Saturday Mar 14, 2020
Saturday Mar 14, 2020
Dr Roberto Cosentini is an old friend of St Emlyn's who works in Bergamo, in Northern Italy. He is right at the heart of the recent Covid19 outbreak. He kindly found an hour to record a podcast with us on his experiences.
There are so many essential lessons in this podcast. Please share with clinical and non-clinical colleagues, as we need to plan NOW. Roberto is quite clear that if we don't train and get plans into place before the wave of cases hit us then both ourselves and our patients will suffer.
In the interest of speed I'm not going to summarise the whole podcast. You have to listen to it all yourself to see what's relevant to you. These are some of my take away messages.
Divide your department into resp patients and non-resp patients
Wear PPE and know how to use it
You will need clinicians who do not usually work in ED. Train and orientate them now (before you need them).
Most patients are hypoxic and this responds to O2 and CPAP. You're going to need a lot of CPAP and how that happens could be tricky. They found hoods the best (Ed - but how many of those do we have?).
Although hypoxic, patients have good lung compliance.
They regularly saw diurnal variation with many patients presenting in the early afternoon.
It's emotionally exhausting. Prepare yourself and your team psychologically and support them during the pandemic. Roberto's department has an embedded psychologist.
Health care worker infections were quite low (because they wore PPE for all resp cases).
Flow through the department and onto wards is absolutely vital.
Flow out the the main hospitals to other units that can rehabilitate is vital.
Decisions for ICU level care were similar to normal (in his hospital)
We rarely declare one of our podcasts a 'must listen' but this is an exception. Please listen and share widely. Please think hard about the issues Roberto raises and PLEASE ACT NOW.
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How you can support St Emlyn's
Join us for #stemlynsLIVE conference May 12th 2020
Subscribe to the blog (look top right for the link)
Subscribe to our PODCAST on iTunes
Follow us on twitter @stemlyns
PLEASE Like us on Facebook
Find out more about the St.Emlyn’s team
Find out more about the MMU MSc in Emergency Medicine here.
Download one of our FREE e-books here
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Friday Mar 20, 2020
Ep 156 - February 2020 Round Up
Friday Mar 20, 2020
Friday Mar 20, 2020
Iain and Simon chat about the current Corona pandemic and the blog in Feb 2020.
Iain remains positive, but Simon thinks the glass is half full. Time will tell who is right (though in truth there is a lot of common ground).
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Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Ep 157 - ICU for the non-intensivist with Sarah Thorton
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Simon chats to Sarah Thornton, consultant anaesthetist, intensivist and head of the NW school of anaesthesia on preparing to work in a critical care unit during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sunday Mar 29, 2020
Ep 158 - Understanding Fear and Anxiety around COVID19 with Liz Crowe
Sunday Mar 29, 2020
Sunday Mar 29, 2020
The world is consumed by the Coronavirus pandemic, but how do we look after ourselves? Liz and Iain discuss some strategies to stay well over the coming weeks and months. Recorded on 25th March 2020.
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Simon interviews Dr John Rogers and Dr Nathan Lewis on respiratory infection prevention.
John a Sports and Exercise Medicine Consultant in Manchester. He is also Chief Medical Officer for British Triathlon and Visiting Professor in Sport & Exercise Medicine at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Nathan is lead performance nutrition scientist at the English Institute of Sport and at ORRECO.
These two academics take us through how sports science might be able to support our wellbeing during the Covid19 pandemic.
References
Recommendations to maintain immune health in athletes https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tejs20
Probiotics https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006895.pub3/epdf/full
Vitamin D and Respiratory Tract Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23840373/
Vitamin C for prevention and treatment of pneumonia https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013134/full
Vitamin C and common cold https://www.cochrane.org/CD000980/ARI_vitamin-c-for-preventing-and-treating-the-common-cold
Effect of Flavonoids on Upper Respiratory Tract Infections and Immune Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27184276/
Vitamin C and Infections https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28353648/
Zinc lozenges and the common cold: a meta-analysis comparing zinc acetate and zinc gluconate, and the role of zinc dosage https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28515951/
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Ep 160 - March 2020 Round Up
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Iain and Simon discuss Covid19 and more in this review of the best of the blog from March 2020.
Wednesday Apr 15, 2020
Ep 161 - COVID-19 Journal Club #1
Wednesday Apr 15, 2020
Wednesday Apr 15, 2020
Professor Rick Body is joined by Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynolds (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Dr Anisa Jafar (Academic Clinical Lecturer) and Prof Simon Carley (you know him...) to discuss six papers about COVID-19 infection.
03:10 - Paper 1 – Guan et al. Clinical characteristics of Coronavirus disease 2019 in China. NEJM Feb 28 2020
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2002032
16:54 Paper 2 – Zou et al. Single Cell RNA-SEQ Data Analysis on the receptor ACE2 expression reveals the potential risk of different human organs vulnerable to 2019-NCOV infection. Frontiers of Medicine. Mar 12 2020.
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11684-020-0754-0.pdf
21:43 Paper 3 – Gautret et al. Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin treatment of COVID-19: Results of an open-label non-randomised clinical trial. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. 20 Mar 2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924857920300996?via%3Dihub
25:25 Paper 4 – Cao et al. A trial of Lopinavir-Ritonavir in adults hospitalized with severe COVID-19. NEJM Mar 18 2020
https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2001282
29:35 Paper 5 – Cui et al. Prevalence of venous thromboembolism in patients with severe Coronavirus pneumonia. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Apr 9 2020 doi:10.1111/jth.14830
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jth.14830
34:14 Paper 6 – Lynarts et al. Prediction models for diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19 infection: systematic review and critical appraisal. BMJ. Apr 7 2020 BMJ 2020;369:m1328
https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/369/bmj.m1328.full.pdf
Saturday Apr 25, 2020
Ep 163 - COVID-19 Journal Club #2
Saturday Apr 25, 2020
Saturday Apr 25, 2020
Welcome to our second webinar on recent research about COVID-19, hosted by the University of Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with St Emlyn’s.
The panel was hosted by Rick Body. The panel includes Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Dr Anisa Jafar (Academic Clinical Lecturer), Dr Casey Parker and Prof Simon Carley (you know him…) to discuss six papers about COVID-19 infection.
The live event took place on Tuesday 21st April 2020
References:
Paper 1 (00:00) Tang W, Cao Z, Han M, et al. Hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19: an open-label, randomized, controlled trial. April 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.10.20060558
Paper 2 (12:09) Bendavid E, Mulaney B, Sood N, et al. COVID-19 Antibody Seroprevalence in Santa Clara County, California. April 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.14.20062463
Paper 3 (16:40) Wölfel R, Corman VM, Guggemos W, et al. Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019. Nature. April 2020. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2196-x
Paper 4 (23:33) Favas C. Guidance for the Prevention of COVID-19 Infections among High-Risk Individuals in Camps and Camp-like Settings. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; 2020:1-15. https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2020-04/Guidance%20for%20the%20prevention%20of%20COVID-19%20infections%20among%20high-risk%20individuals%20in%20camps%20and%20camp-like%20settings.pdf. Accessed April 21, 2020.
Paper 5 (30:30) Zeng J-H, Liu Y-X, Yuan J, et al. First case of COVID-19 complicated with fulminant myocarditis: a case report and insights. Infection. April 2020. doi:10.1007/s15010-020-01424-5
Paper 6 (35:02) Caruso D, Zerunian M, Polici M, et al. Chest CT Features of COVID-19 in Rome, Italy. Radiology. April 2020:201237. doi:10.1148/radiol.2020201237
Podcast edited by Izzy Carley and Iain Beardsell
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Ep 164 - COVID-19 Journal Club #3
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Welcome to our third webinar and journal club reviewing recent research and featuring COVID-19 updates, hosted by the University of Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with St Emlyn’s.
The live event took place on Tuesday 28th April at 11am BST (10am GMT).
The panel was hosted by Rick Body The panel includes Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Dr Dan Horner (RCEM Professor), Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Salim Rezaie (Emergency Physician and Founder of REBEL EM) and Prof Simon Carley (you know him…) to discuss five papers about COVID-19 infection. There will be another COVID 19 Journal Club next week (Tuesday 5th May at 11am).
Edited by Izzy Carley and Iain Beardsell
References
Helms J. High risk of thrombosis in patients in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: a multicenter prospective cohort study. Intensive Care Medicine. April 2020:1-21. https://www.esicm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/863_author_proof.pdf.
Caputo ND, Strayer RJ, Levitan R. Early Self‐Proning in Awake, Non‐intubated Patients in the Emergency Department: A Single ED’s Experience during the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Acad Emerg Med. April 2020. doi:10.1111/acem.13994
Garcia FP, Perez Tanoira R, Romanyk Cabrera JP, Arroyo Serrano T, Gomez Herruz P, Cuadros Gonzalez J. Rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by detecting IgG and IgM antibodies with an immunochromatographic device: a prospective single-center study. April 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.11.20062158
Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M, et al. Presenting Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes Among 5700 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City Area. JAMA. April 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6775
Metzler B, Siostrzonek P, Binder R, Bauer A, Reinstadler S. Decline of acute coronary syndrome admissions in Austria since the outbreak of COVID-19: the pandemic response causes cardiac collateral damage. Eur Heart J. April 2020. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa314
Sunday May 03, 2020
Ep 165 - April 2020 Round Up
Sunday May 03, 2020
Sunday May 03, 2020
It's been another busy month at St Emlyn's, with the publication of 15 blog posts and five podcasts, but there does seem to be an awful lot to talk about!
Of course there have been multiple posts and podcasts about COVID-19, and you can fiind all of these on our special St Emlyn's page. Highlights have included the three RCEM/St Emlyn's Webinars which we are delighted to host in podcast form.
It's not just been coronavirus though, we have also dipped out toes into exercise and nutrition, graphic design and horticulture!
Parts of the site have also undergone a bit of a redesign with the curriculum pages now easier to navigate to find that post to fioll an e-portfolio hole.
We hope you're finding all of our output useful. Please do subscribe to the website (in the top right hand corner) and rate our podcast on iTunes.
They'll be much more to come in May I am sure.
Take care
Iain
Podcast edited by Izzy Carley
Thursday May 07, 2020
Ep 166 - COVID-19 Journal Club #4 (May 2020)
Thursday May 07, 2020
Thursday May 07, 2020
Welcome to our fourth webinar and journal club reviewing recent research and featuring COVID-19 updates, hosted by the University of Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with St Emlyn's.
The live event tool place on Tuesday 5th May at 11.30am BST (10.30am GMT).
The panel was again be hosted by Rick Body The panel includes Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Dr Anisa Jafar (Academic Clinical Lecturer), Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Prof Simon Carley and special guest Justin Morgenstern to discuss six papers about COVID-19 infection.
There will be another COVID 19 Journal Club next week (Tuesday 12th May at 11am).
References
1. He X, Lau EHY, Wu P, et al. Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nat Med. Published online April 15, 2020. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0869-5
2. Bahl P, Doolan C, de Silva C, Chughtai AA, Bourouiba L, MacIntyre CR. Airborne or Droplet Precautions for Health Workers Treating Coronavirus Disease 2019? The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Published online April 16, 2020. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaa189.
3. Wang Y, Zhang D, Du G, et al. Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial. The Lancet. Published online April 2020. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)31022-9
4. Rajendran K, Narayanasamy K, Rangarajan J, Rathinam J, Natarajan M, Ramachandran A. Convalescent plasma transfusion for the treatment of COVID‐19: Systematic review. J Med Virol. Published online May 2020. doi:10.1002/jmv.25961
5. Tedeschi S, Giannella M, Bartoletti M, et al. Clinical impact of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors on in-hospital mortality of patients with hypertension hospitalized for COVID-19. Clinical Infectious Diseases. Published online April 27, 2020. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa492
6. Docherty AB, Harrison EM, Green CA, et al. Features of 16,749 hospitalised UK patients with COVID-19 using the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol. Published online April 28, 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.23.20076042
Podcast edited from a live webinar by Izzy Carley
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Ep 167 - Troponin Update and LoDED Study Review with Rick Body
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Over the last few years many of us in the UK have started to incorporate high-sensitivity troponin into the assessment of patients presenting with chest pain.
We have seen these samples taken at ever shorter intervals, aiming to discharge low risk patients safely, sooner from the Emergency Department (ED). This has been driven in part by the "Four Hour Emergency Access Target" as well as increased crowding in overwhelmed EDs.
In this podcast, internationally renowned researcher Prof Rick Body discusses the latest in troponin research and the recent LoDED study.
The Shownotes
The various organisations mentioned by Rick can be found here:
The Innovation Agency Webinar Series
The NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative
The CQUIN that will be implemented later this year (page 15 for the Troponin section)
The Draft NICE recommendations
Friday May 15, 2020
Ep 168 - COVID-19 Journal Club #5 (May 2020)
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Welcome to our fifth webinar and journal club reviewing recent research and featuring COVID-19 updates, hosted by the University of Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with St Emlyn’s.
The live event took place on Tuesday 12th May at 11.00am BST (10.00am GMT).
The COVID-19 Journal Club Panel
Today’s panel was hosted by Rick Body The panel includes Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Prof Dan Horner, Dr Anisa Jafar, Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Prof Simon Carley and special guest Lauren Westafer (Attending in Emergency Medicine and Co-Creator of the Foamcast blog and podcast) and Ellie Hothershall (head of undergraduate medicine at the University of Dundee and an expert in Public Health) to discuss six papers about COVID-19 infection.
1. Lai S, Ruktanonchai NW, Zhou L, et al. Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 in China. Nature. May 2020. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2293-x
2. Paranjpe I, Fuster V, Lala A, et al. Association of Treatment Dose Anticoagulation with In-Hospital Survival Among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. May 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.001
3. Thanh L, Andreadakis Z, Kumar A, et al. The COVID-19 vaccine development landscape. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2020;19(5):305-306. doi:10.1038/d41573-020-00073-5
4. Bryan A, Pepper G, Wener MH, et al. Performance Characteristics of the Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG Assay and Seroprevalence in Boise, Idaho. J Clin Microbiol. May 2020. doi:10.1128/jcm.00941-20
5. Treibel TA, Manisty C, Burton M, et al. COVID-19: PCR screening of asymptomatic health-care workers at London hospital. The Lancet. May 2020. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)31100-4
6. Altmann S, Milsom L, Zillessen H, et al. Acceptability of app-based contact tracing for COVID-19: Cross-country survey evidence. May 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.05.05.20091587
Podcast edited from a live webinar by Izzy Carley
Friday May 22, 2020
Ep 169 - COVID-19 Journal Club #6 (May 2020)
Friday May 22, 2020
Friday May 22, 2020
Welcome to our sixth COVID-19 Journal Club Podcast.
The panel was hosted by Rick Body and included Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Dr Anisa Jafar, Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Prof Simon Carley and special guest Liz Crowe (Advanced Clinician Social Worker and PhD candidate in health staff wellbeing in Brisbane) to discuss four papers about COVID-19 infection. We were especially pleased to welcome Liz this week, which enabled us to focus on the important topics of grief, loss and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
1. Williamson E, Walker AJ, et al. OpenSAFELY: factors associated with COVID-19-related hospital death in the linked electronic health records of 17 million adult NHS patients. May 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.05.06.20092999
2. Menni C, Valdes AM, Freidin MB, et al. Real-time tracking of self-reported symptoms to predict potential COVID-19. Nat Med. May 2020.
3. Liu Y, Ning Z, Chen Y, et al. Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals. Nature. April 2020. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2271-3
4. Selman LE, Chao D, Sowden R, Marshall S, Chamberlain C, Koffman J. Bereavement support on the frontline of COVID-19: Recommendations for hospital clinicians. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. May 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.024
Podcast edited from a live webinar by Izzy Carley
Thursday Jun 04, 2020
Ep 170 - COVID-19 Journal Club #7 (June 2020)
Thursday Jun 04, 2020
Thursday Jun 04, 2020
Welcome to our seventh webinar and journal club reviewing recent research and featuring COVID-19 updates, hosted by the University of Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with St Emlyn's.
The live event took place on Tuesday 26th May.
Today's panel will be hosted by Rick Body The panel includes Prof Paul Klapper (Professor of Clinical Virology), Dr Charlie Reynard (NIHR Clinical Research Fellow), Dr Anisa Jafar, Prof Pam Vallely (Professor of Medical Virology), Ellie Hothershall (Consultant in Public Health), Prof Simon Carley and special guest Kelly Ann Janssens (Emergency Physician in Ireland) to discuss five papers about COVID-19 infection.
This will be the last weekly journal club, but we will be back with more EBM goodness very soon. Do let us know what you like to be included at stemlyns@gmail.com
References
Beigel JH, Tomashek KM, Dodd LE, et al. Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report. N Engl J Med. Published online May 22, 2020. doi:10.1056/nejmoa2007764
Mehra MR, Desai SS, Ruschitzka F, Patel AN. Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis. The Lancet. Published online May 2020. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)31180-6
Gray N, Calleja D, Wimbush A, et al. “No test is better than a bad test”: Impact of diagnostic uncertainty in mass testing on the spread of Covid-19. Published online April 22, 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.16.20067884
Peyrony O, Marbeuf-Gueye C, Truong V, et al. Accuracy of Emergency Department clinical findings for diagnostic of coronavirus disease-2019. Annals of Emergency Medicine. Published online May 2020. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.05.022
Ludvigsson JF. Children are unlikely to be the main drivers of the COVID‐19 pandemic – a systematic review. Acta Paediatr. Published online May 19, 2020. doi:10.1111/apa.15371
Podcast edited from a live webinar by Iazzy Carley
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Ep 172 - Dexamethasone and COVID - Show us the Data! (June 2020)
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
St Emlyn's three professors, Carley, Body and Horner* critically appraise the Press Release regarding Dexamethasone in the treatment of COVID-19.
What does this mean for the future of Evidence Based Medicine? Can we really start using a medication when the trial hasn't been peer reviewed and the full dataset not released?
The blog post by Josh Farkas, that is mentioned in the podcast, is here.
*Professor Simon Carley, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Manchester Metropolitan University and a Consultant in Adult and Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Manchester Foundation Trust, Professor Rick Body Professor of Emergency Medicine in Manchester and Honorary Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Manchester Foundation Trust. Professor Dan Horner, Professor of Emergency Medicine of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Ep 173 - The St Emlyn's Lesson Plans
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
We are delighted to introduce you to the "St Emlyn's Lesson Plans", which we hope will help structure some of your education sessions over coming months (and years).
Each lesson plan starts with a descrete learning outcome, to set the scene, as well as details of the RCEM curriculum item(s) that will be covered.
The first tasks are aimed at aquiring some background knowledge and can either be done as part of the session, or beforehand. These utilise the vast "FOAMed" resources (including, but not exclusively, those of St Emlyn's).
Our experience is that time constraints often mean that "background reading" isn't achieved before the session, so would encourage allowing time within it to complete these. They are designed to take about 30 minutes and occupy the first half of the session.
Everything you need for each lesson is included in the plan. We would recommend that each learner has an internet enabled device available (with headphones) to read and listen to the background material at their own pace.
The second half of the session should be facilitated by an expert. This can happen in person, but also online, via any of the interfaces that are now so familiar.
In many plans we have given some case examples, but it would be even better if learners can bring cases of their own for discussion. This element is very much within the control of the facilitator (who should been fully cogniscent of the contents of the knowledge section).
The session finishes off with a summary, this should emphasise again the most important learning points. To really embed the knowledge and skills the particiapants should be encouraged to reflect on what they have learned, and to even talk to thse who were unable to attend about what they missed.
For learners this also gives an opportunity to easily link teaching sessions to their portfolio.
You may want to record the "face-to-face" elements, so that those who were not present are able to access them when they can (and those that did can rewatch to refresh their learning).
Although these plans are designed for delivery in a single centre, there is absolutely no reason why regional (or even national) teaching could take place in this way. The recent COVID19 Journal Clubs have demonstrated beautifully how a group of learners can engage with an online panel.
We would be very happy to receive lessons plans to add to the collection. This is very much a collaborative effort.
Please let us know what you think of these lesson plans and if you are using them in your Department. We'd love to hear your ideas about how we can take medical education forward.
Saturday Aug 01, 2020
Ep 174 - June and July 2020 Round Up
Saturday Aug 01, 2020
Saturday Aug 01, 2020
Our own version of Buy One Get One Free* this month, where you get a round up of two months of blog content.
Coronavirus continues to dominate the medical (and non-medical) headlines, and we discuss the two major results from the RECOVERY trial published recently, one positive and one not so (depending on who you talk to....). Simon also catches up with Roberto Cosentini, who you'll remember from the very powerful podcast at the beginning of the pandemic.
COVID isn't the only EBM circus in town though: we've reviewed HALT-IT and Simon has given a talk about the "Ten Top Trauma Papers" of the last year and Laura reviewed a paper looking at haloperidol for headaches.
We're having to think even harder about how we communicate in the ED, both for clinical care and to deliver education. Two ideas to help learning have been featured this month: The St Emlyn's Lesson Plans and "Background Learning".
Good luck to all those starting in Emergency Medicine, and a huge thank you to all those who are moving to other areas of medicine or other departments. It's been a curious few months...
Take care,
Iain
*It's actually Get One Free Get Another Free, but whose ever heard of that?
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Ep 175 - August 2020 Round Up
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Welcome to our audio round up of everything on the blog during August.
As the world continues to be in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic there have been more papers looking at all aspects of this disease.
Simon reviewed the latest paper on Hydroxychloroquine and Charlie collated some of the top papers covering aspects from aerosol spread and use of CPAP to the effect on vulnerable groups and the effect on staff psychological health
It's not all COVID though. Sepsis is a condition we all want to be able to treat more effectively. Sadly there doesn't seem to be any encouraging news about the use of Vitamin C, Steroids and Thiamine in this latest RCT.
Many of the St Emlyn's group have special expertise in toxicology and Gareth wrote this incredibly informative post about the use of GBL. If you're not sure what "ChemSex" is then this post from a few years ago by Janos is worth a read.
The anonymously written "Look at what they make you give" post really struck a chord with readers, with an astonishing number of views. There are messages here for us all.
The numbers of Lesson Plans available continue to grow. We've had some great feedback following their use in induction. If tyou've not seen them yet, do have a look and let us know what you think.
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Crackcast - Head Injury
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
This excellent epsiode of Crackcast covers all you need to know about head injury in the ED.
Saturday Oct 24, 2020
Ep 178 - Surviving the Second Wave with Liz Crowe (October 2020)
Saturday Oct 24, 2020
Saturday Oct 24, 2020
In this special edition of the podcast, Liz Crowe discusses with Iain how we can find contentment, despite the relentless nature of COVID19 and the impending second wave. She gives practical, realistic advice that everyone can consider and encourages us all to be kind to ourselves in these strange and difficult times.
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Ep 179 - October 2020 Round Up
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Friday Nov 06, 2020
A bumper edition of the podcast where Iain and Simon discuss TXA (twice), antibiotics in appendicits, VTE, Blood products in trauma, use of ultrasound in cardiac arrest and plasma in traumatic brain injury. Oh, and COVID19 (but not for long)...
An evidence based cornucopia of aural pleasure.
Please like and subscribe (as all podcasters seem to say).
Take care,
Iain
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Ep 181 - Christmas 2020 Round Up
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
A special festive edition of our round up podcast featuring six weeks of blog posts and plenty more besides.
From all at St Emlyn's we hope you have a very happy festive season and we cannot wait to talk to you again in 2021.
Take care,
Simon and all the team
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
Ep 182 - COVID-19 vaccines update (January 2021)
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
Sunday Jan 17, 2021
A vaccine update with Rick Body, Simon Carley, Pam Vallely, Paul Klapper and Charlie Reynard. Bringing RCEM, St Emlyn's and the University of Manchester together for the latest thoughts and wisdom on the vaccines that might get us out of this pandemic.
Moderna vaccine phase 3 trial - https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2022483
Oxford vaccine phase 2/3 - https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)32466-1.pdf
Pfizer vaccine trial - https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577
#vaccines #COVID19 #coronavirus
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Ep 185 - February 2021 Round Up
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Our regular podcast round up from February 2021. Iain and Simon highlight the key learning points from this month on the St Emlyn’s blog and podcast.
Topics discussed this month include tocilizumab in COVID19, TIA risk scores, new Emergency Care standards (targets) and TXA use in epistaxis. We also pay tribute to Dr Cliff Mann, former President of RCEM who sadly died this month.
Please remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes/Google Play and please do leave us some reviews and ratings there.
Friday May 14, 2021
Ep 189 - April 2021 Round Up
Friday May 14, 2021
Friday May 14, 2021
A podcast with Iain and Simon summarising all the latest content from the St Emlyn's blog in April 2021. Topics discussed include Vaccine Induced Thrombocytopenic Thrombosis, how our own biases can effect our critical appraisal and whether we need to worry about grading the quality of FOAMed resources.
Thanks for listening. Please check out the blogs themselevs at www.stemlynsblog.org and consider subscribing and rating us on iTunes.
If you'd like to see some more from Peter Brindley you can watch one of his SMACC talks here.
Thursday May 20, 2021
Ep 190 - Adult Congenital Heart Disease in the ED: Part 1
Thursday May 20, 2021
Thursday May 20, 2021
This is the first in a two part podcast series discussing Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) and how these patients may present to the Emergency Department (ED). Dr Sam Fitzsimmons, our guest on the podcast, is a Consultant in Adult Congenital Heart Disease at University Hospital Southampton. There is more information in this blog post.
Look out for Part 2, which will be released next week, where we discuss Eisenmenger Syndrome, Transposition of the Great Arteries and Coarctation of the Aorta.
Background
With advances in paediatric cardiac surgery, more and more patients with complex congenital heart disease are surviving to adulthood: in the 1950s you might expect a survival rate of about 10%, whereas now this is more like 85%. In fact, there are more patients in the adult congenital heart disease population than there are in the paediatric one (with 2.3 million adults vs 1.9 million children in Europe).
Many patients with Adult Congenital Heart Disease are young and able to live a relatively normal life. This means that they can travel and take part in just the same sort of activities as those without ACHD. They may well turn up in your Emergency Department one day, regardless of whether you are a tertiary centre or a district general hospital (DGH).
They are experts, and know their disease well, but this does not abstain you from a responsibility to know about them too! When these patients become unwell, they can go downhill very fast and you may not have the chance to discuss with them their exact lesion and its management.
The anatomy and physiology of these patients is abnormal, so they may present in atypical ways, and may not respond to usual medical interventions: in fact, some of our usual treatments may even be harmful.
However, starting with our usual 'ABC' approach is by far the best way to go, whilst gathering more information and contacting their specialist centre. Many patients will have their last clinic letter and ECG with them (which will also have the direct dial number of their specialist). And if they, or their relative, say there is something wrong you must believe them and do all you can to make sure they are fully investigated.
The presence of scars may give you some clues as to the patient's underlying condition and previous surgical repairs. (BMJ 2016; 354: i3905)
A General Approach
Do your usual ABC assessment.
Pay particular attention to the respiratory rate - this should be normal.
Give oxygen if they look unwell.
They should have a 'normal' blood pressure - any hypotension should be taken as abnormal and investigated.
The Fontan Circulation
This is not a condition in itself, but in fact the resulting circulation after a series of operations that could've been performed due to a number of different underlying conditions:
Tricuspid Atresia
Double Inlet Left Ventricle
Atrio-ventricular Septal Defect – unbalanced
Pulmonary Atresia
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
In essence these patients are born with a single functioning ventricle, that has to be utilised to supply the systemic side of the circulation, whilst the Fontan acts as a passive means of returning blood to the pulmonary circulation.
It was first devised in the early 1970s by Dr Francis Fontan, so the majority of patients with this are in their mid thirties and younger.
Potential reasons for admission to the ED - Fontan circulation
1, Arrythmia
As the patient is entirely dependent on their systemic ventricle to work optimally, any disturbance of the delivery into it is very poorly tolerated. Thus, any arrhythmia is life threatening, even a mild atrial tachycardia.
These patients need to be returned to sinus rhythm as quickly as possible and the recommended method for this is DC cardioversion in expert hands.
Fontan patients have an incredibly fragile circulation and any change in their respiratory physiology can be life threatening, especially if it increases their pulmonary pressures (and thus prevents the passive flow within the Fontan circulation). These patients are not candidates for sedation in the ED and should have an experienced anaesthetist to manage them during the procedure.
Beware if the patient comes in and tells you they are fasted! This means they have been in this situation before and needed DC cardioversion.
2, Haemoptysis
Over time the patient develops venous hypertension within the Fontan connection. This causes the formation of collateral vessels, that may link into the bronchial arterial tree.
If the patient presents in shock treat them as you would any other patient with emergency blood transfusion.
Any haemoptysis, however small, may herald the beginning of a massive bleed. These patients need further investigation, probably a CT chest with contrast. These vessels may then be coiled by interventional radiology.
3, Cyanosis
If the patient has a non fenestrated Fontan they should have normal oxygen saturations. However, if there is a fenestration there will be shunting and therefore a reduction in oxygenation.
For patients this is trade of between being pink or blue, each of which have complications.
Dr Sam Fitzsimmons
Dr Sam Fitzsimmons is a Consultant Cardiologist in Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) at the University Hospital Southampton, UK. Sam also subspecialises in pulmonary hypertension and maternal cardiology. Working within a tertiary surgical ACHD centre, Sam delivers an ACHD on call service for emergency admissions, inpatient care, routine outpatient follow-up, intra-operative imaging and post-surgical care, as well as specialist clinics in Pulmonary Hypertension and Maternal Cardiology. Sam holds a Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer post with the University of Southampton as she is passionate about teaching and in particular, she is enthusiastic about helping demystify congenital heart disease for many non-specialist to improve patient care. Sam is well published in peer review journals, cardiology textbooks and specialist guidelines.
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Ep 191 - Adult Congenital Heart Disease in the ED: Part 2
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Wednesday May 26, 2021
This is the second in a two part podcast series discussing Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) and how these patients may present to the Emergency Department (ED). Dr Sam Fitzsimmons, our guest on the podcast, is a Consultant in Adult Congenital Heart Disease at University Hospital Southampton. There is more information in this blog post.
In this episode we discuss Eisenmenger Syndrome, Transposition of the Great Arteries and Coarctation of the Aorta.
Thursday Jun 17, 2021
Ep 192 - May 2021 Round Up
Thursday Jun 17, 2021
Thursday Jun 17, 2021
It's been a busy month on the blog with plenty for Iain and Simon to talk about. The Manchester Arena bombing, new guidelines for Anaphylaxis management, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Calcium in Major Haemorrhage and Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection all get a mention alongside the usual witterings of two middle aged emergency physicians.
Thursday May 12, 2022
Ep 201 - March/April 2022 Round Up
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
After a brief hiatus we're back with more from the St Emlyn's Blog. We discuss a wide range of topics from crowding in Emergency Departments and the RePHILL trial to breastfeeding, genetic testing and diagnosing DVTs, as well as our highlights from the recent RCEM CPD Conference in Bournemouth. There really is something for everyone!
Thursday Jun 16, 2022
Ep 202 - May 2022 Round Up
Thursday Jun 16, 2022
Thursday Jun 16, 2022
Our monthly round up of all from the St Emlyn's blog. We discuss pathways into emergency care research, pad positioning in cardioversion of AF and possible gender differences in the presciption of TXA in trauma.
We also chat about travel in Lithuania, memories of defibrillating with hand held paddles and Simon's recent forst infection with COVID.
We mention a post on Lyme disease which you can read here (especially if you live near the New Forest...)
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Ep 203 - June and July 2022 Round Up
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Simon and Iain run through the latest highlights from the St Emlyn's blog and podcast, including the FORCE study, the EXIT study and more about Vitamin C in sepsis...
We hope you enjoy the podcast. Please do like and subscribe on your preferred podcast app and tell your friends and colleagues about us.
Saturday Oct 08, 2022
Ep 204 - August 2022 Round Up
Saturday Oct 08, 2022
Saturday Oct 08, 2022
This is our round up of all that happened on the St Emlyn's blog in August 2022 (yes - we know it's a bit late, but there's been a lot going on!).
Listen to Simon and Iain discuss the latest therapies in COVID, particularly Baricitinib, calcium in trauma and how we find balance in our work-life blend.
Please do like and subscribe to the podcast and tell your friends and colleagues. We've lots of exciting stuff coming your way over the next few months.
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Ep 206 - October 2022 Round Up
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Monday Nov 14, 2022
In our new regular slot of the middle Monday of the month we're delighted to bring you the highlights from the St Emlyn's blog this month.,
Iain and Simon chat about batching in EDs, Ossilation in decision making and a whole lot more about trauma (chest drains, extrication, sex and TXA and rib fixation).
Please do like and subscribe and keep an eye out for our new sister website St Emlyn's Medical School and it's podcast series coming soon.
Sunday Nov 27, 2022
Ep 207 - Burnout with Liz Crowe
Sunday Nov 27, 2022
Sunday Nov 27, 2022
Burnout is a term that seems to be used a lot these days, but what does it really mean? In this episode Dr Liz Crowe explains all, and will almost certainly change the way you view burnout.
Liz, who be well known to St Emyn's audiences, has just completed her PhD on "Understanding the risk and protective factors for burnout and wellbeing of staff working in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: PICU staff wellbeing" and has an unrivalled real world and evidence based experience of what these terms really mean.
In this first in a special series Liz goes into depth describing not only what burnout is, but how it can be measured (and the limitations of this) and most importantly how this is a system issue and not a diagnosis.
In the next episode we will discuss another commonly used term 'wellbeing'.
We think this series is incredibly important and hope you will help us share it far and wide. You can read the accompanying blogpost here.
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Ep 208 - What is Wellbeing with Liz Crowe
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Wellbeing is very complex, as it is an individual construct that is strongly aligned and interpreted through a lens of personal values, philosophy, culture, faith, and goals for life. Most importantly, wellbeing is dynamic rather than homeostatic and a subjective state determined by the individual.
Yet we use the term wellbeing to describe a wide variety of different things (often in terms of being the opposite of burnout which it most certainly isn't).
In this second episode of our series Liz Crowe discusses in detail what the literature says about wellbeing and how we may be able to use this going forward.
Please do like and subscribe. Thanks for listening.
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Ep 209 - November and December 2022 Round Up
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
A special double edition covering the blog posts from November and December and more. We discuss evidence based medicine with the DoseVF trial, and more from RECOVERY, discussion about 'what is downtime' and how we organise follow up for patients who don't live in our area and what happened at the amazing London Trauma Conference
We also announced some of the plans for StEmlynsWILD. Look out for booking details and more in the coming weeks.
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Ep 211 - Semi structured interviews (CAN 9)
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Long term listeners to the St Emlyn’s podcast may remember our series entitled ‘Critical Appraisal Nuggets’ (CANs). We are absolutely delighted to reinvigorate this project under the leadership of Professor Rick Body, with the episode on semi structured interviews.
In this easily digestible and succinct podcast Rick and Laura Howard go through the pros and cons of setting up semi structured interviews and how these can be used effectively in qualitative research.
In the latest episode, we cover a qualitative research technique: semi-structured interviews. Qualitative research might be out of your comfort zone: we’re generally more comfortable with quantitative measures – numbers and statistics. It’s something they have experience with, having previously published a paper exploring the impact of events that happen at work on the wellbeing of emergency physicians. This was a labour of love for Laura. Laura wrote a powerful blog about it here.
Semi-structured interviews are a great way to get the really rich data we need to understand something in greater depth. They allow us to ask ‘why?’ as well as just ‘what?’, ‘who?’ and ‘when?’. But reading qualitative research papers can be difficult when it takes us out of our comfort zone. In this CAN podcast, Laura and Rick take us through what semi-structured interviews are, why we might use them, how you design and conduct them, and they also have some pearls of wisdom about how to make transcribing them a lot less painful. By the end, we hope that you’ll feel confident with the basics of the technique. And if you want to practice your critical appraisal, why not put their study under the microscope?
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Ep 212 - February 2023 Monthly Round Up
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Our regular monthly round up and chat from the St Emlyn's blog. We talk about the use of artificial intelligence in research and the use of remifentanil instead of neuromuscular blockade in rapid sequence intubation. Plus more about the StEmlynsWILD conference and Simon's new role as Dean of RCEM and how you can get involved.
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Ep 213 - Sensitivity and Specificity (CAN 10)
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
The latest CAN is one of our brand-new 'revision editions' -- brief podcasts aimed at covering the essentials of critical appraisal for medical students and junior doctors preparing for exams.
With the help of Gregory Yates, an academic doctor based in Manchester, this episode introduces two core concepts: sensitivity and specificity. These are two ways of thinking about the accuracy of a diagnostic test. Knowing the sensitivity and specificity of an investigation will give you a decent idea of how it should be used in the emergency department.
Sensitivity (Sn) describes the chance that a test will be positive if your patient has the condition you're testing for. Some people call it the 'true positive rate' or alternatively the positivity in disease (PID) rate. If you need a hand remembering it, you can always remember that PID is a sensitive issue.
Meanwhile, specificity (Sp) considers the chance of a test being negative if the patient doesn't have the condition you're testing for. It's the 'true negative rate' or alternatively the negativity in health (NIH) rate. There are times when we particularly need a test to have a high sensitivity. This is generally when we want to be particularly confident that a test accurately identifies everyone with the relevant condition because we really don't want to miss it. We need a high sensitivity to rule out disease. (Sn-uff it out). At other times, we need to be confident that a patient with a positive test actually has the disease - for example, if the treatment is unpleasant or involves exposing patients to risk. In that case, we want a high specificity to rule in disease. (Sp-in it in).
In this CAN, we use D-Dimer as an example of a very sensitive investigation: it’s positive in nearly 100% of cases of venous thromboembolism. Specificity describes the likelihood that the test will be negative if your patient does not have the disease. We use HbA1c as an example of a highly specific investigation: it’s rarely used in the emergency department, but if it’s elevated, we can be almost certain that the patient is diabetic. HbA1c is almost never (
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Ep 214 - Shock from St Emlyn’s Medical School
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
This is the first podcast in our new series from St Emlyn's Medical School. They are specifically aimed at healthcare students and focus on the Medical Licensing Assessment (UK) presentations in particular but will be useful wherever you listen in the world.
Each episode has a standard format with a case to set the scene, a set of learning objectives, a discussion, a summary and a case resolution.
There are comprehensive listening notes on the dedicated website, as well as a growing set of other resources.
We hope you enjoy listening. The rest of the podcasts can be found on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The music for this series (just as it is for the St Emlyn's Podcast) is composed by Greg Beardsell
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Ep 215 - March 2023 Monthly Round Up
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Our monthly podcast round up from St Emlyn's Blog. This month Simon and Iain discuss the prehospital use of troponin measurement in the assessment of patients with chest pain and the use of AI in medicine, as well as an update about St Emlyn's WILD.
Please do like and subscribe
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Ep 217 - Weaning the wheezy child with David James at the PREMIER Conference
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
This is the first in a series of podcasts, recorded live at the Premier Conference in Winchester.
In this episode, David James challenges our current practice when we give a 'weaning plan' for children discharged with wheeze.
There is a plan here that you can review and give to patients and their carers.
More information at these excellent websites
PIER Network
Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team
Healthier Together
David James has been a PEM Consultant at University Hospital Southampton since 2018. His main interests are in training and education, adolescent emergency medicine and Quality Improvement. He is the Divisional Director of Medical Education and a Training advisor on the PEMISAC. He is the acute care lead for Wessex Healthier Together and has led several projects including those around acute wheeze at UHS and regionally. Outside of work he enjoys swimming, cycling and running and is extremely average at triathlons.
Saturday Jun 17, 2023
Ep 219 - Blast Injuries with Chris Hillman at the PREMIER Conference
Saturday Jun 17, 2023
Saturday Jun 17, 2023
Chris brought us his reflections amnd knowledge from some of his extensive experience as a military EM consultant in two wars. Blast injury could be blunt, penetrating, may involve major haemorrhage: you have to expect any injury possible. It’s worldwide and it’s getting more common.
Blast injury affects every body cavity, but it is the CABC approach that matters, Doing the basics well is still the key. Bleeding points may not be obvious so apply tourniquets wherever stops the bleeding.
Often patients will not arrive in ones or twos but as a whole group affected by an incident, so it is vital we are prepared. The Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual is a free resource available to download here and is highly recommended.
Chris Hillman is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Paediatric Emergency Medicine, working in Southampton. Serving in the Royal Navy since university, he has deployed on Ships, Submarines and with Commando units globally, and with the Army to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is the outgoing Consultant Advisor in Emergency Medicine and Clinical Director Commando Forward Surgical Group.
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Ep 223 - July and August 2023 Monthly Round Up
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
After a long, hot and relaxing summer (!) Simon and Iain return with all the content from the St Emlyn's blog in July and August. They discuss four papers in detail, including the ARREST trial about cardiac arrest centres, whether clinical examination can identify life threatening injuries in trauma, the TOP-ART study looking at a novel agent in trauma management and the use of REBOA.
Please do like and subscribe and get in touch if you would like to contribute to the blog site.
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Ep 224 - September 2023 Monthly Round Up - Top Ten Papers and more
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
An EBM-packed episode where Iain and Simon go over ten of the top papers from the last year discussing all manners of things Emergency Medicine, including TXA in trauma, use of video laryngoscopy, defibrillation strategies in refractory VF, and ten-second triage in major incidents. There's also a very pertinent discussion about whether the age of your Emergency Physician might affect your outcome...
Thank you again for listening to the St Emlyn's podcast. Please do like and subscribe and get in touch if there is anything you'd like us to discuss or if you'd like to get involved.
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
In this bumper double edition Simon and Iain chat through all the recent content on the St Emlyn's blog site, including a review of CRYOSTAT-2 and the DAShED study, a review of the new ILCOR guidelines, flow in the ED and why silence might just be the tonic we all need.
All of us at St Emlyn's wish you all, wherever you are on the world a peaceful, happy and restful Christmas.
Please do like and subscribe and get in touch if you'd like to contribute to our ongoing work.
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Ep 230 - Top Twenty Papers of 2023 - Part 2 - Haemorrhage and Cardiac
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
In this second of a two part podcast special Iain and Simon go through twenty of the top papers from the last year or so, as presented by Simon at the Big Sick Conference in Zermatt earlier this year. All the details and more discussion can be found on the blog site.
In Part 2 they discuss papers about major haemorrhage, trauma, cardiac arrest and more.
In Part 1 they discuss all things airway, including where we should be intubating patients needing immediate haemorrhage control. VL vs DL, the effect of blade size on intubation success, whether small adult ventilation bags are better than larger versions, intubating comatose poisoned patients, and more.
Papers
Jansen JO et al. Emergency Department Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta in Trauma Patients With Exsanguinating Hemorrhage: The UK-REBOA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Nov 21;330(19):1862-1871. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.20850. PMID: 37824132; PMCID: PMC10570916.
Davenport R et al. Early and Empirical High-Dose Cryoprecipitate for Hemorrhage After Traumatic Injury: The CRYOSTAT-2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Nov 21;330(19):1882-1891. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.21019. PMID: 37824155; PMCID: PMC10570921.
PATCH-Trauma Investigators and the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group; Prehospital Tranexamic Acid for Severe Trauma. N Engl J Med. 2023 Jul 13;389(2):127-136. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2215457. Epub 2023 Jun 14. PMID: 37314244.
Shepherd JM et al Safety and efficacy of artesunate treatment in severely injured patients with traumatic hemorrhage. The TOP-ART randomized clinical trial. Intensive Care Med. 2023 Aug;49(8):922-933. doi: 10.1007/s00134-023-07135-3. Epub 2023 Jul 20. PMID: 37470832; PMCID: PMC10425486.
Bouzat P et al. Efficacy and Safety of Early Administration of 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate in Patients With Trauma at Risk of Massive Transfusion: The PROCOAG Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Apr 25;329(16):1367-1375. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.4080. PMID: 36942533; PMCID: PMC10031505.
Torres CM, Kent A, Scantling D, Joseph B, Haut ER, Sakran JV. Association of Whole Blood With Survival Among Patients Presenting With Severe Hemorrhage in US and Canadian Adult Civilian Trauma Centers. JAMA Surg. 2023 May 1;158(5):532-540. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2022.6978. Erratum in: JAMA Surg. 2023 Apr 5;: PMID: 36652255; PMCID: PMC9857728.
Marsden MER, Kellett S, Bagga R, Wohlgemut JM, Lyon RL, Perkins ZB, Gillies K, Tai NR. Understanding pre-hospital blood transfusion decision-making for injured patients: an interview study. Emerg Med J. 2023 Nov;40(11):777-784. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2023-213086. Epub 2023 Sep 13. PMID: 37704359; PMCID: PMC10646861.
Wohlgemut JM, Pisirir E, Stoner RS, Kyrimi E, Christian M, Hurst T, Marsh W, Perkins ZB, Tai NRM. Identification of major hemorrhage in trauma patients in the prehospital setting: diagnostic accuracy and impact on outcome. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 Jan 12;9(1):e001214. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2023-001214. PMID: 38274019; PMCID: PMC10806521.
Cheskes S, Verbeek PR, Drennan IR, McLeod SL, Turner L, Pinto R, Feldman M, Davis M, Vaillancourt C, Morrison LJ, Dorian P, Scales DC. Defibrillation Strategies for Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation. N Engl J Med. 2022 Nov 24;387(21):1947-1956. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2207304. Epub 2022 Nov 6. PMID: 36342151.
Siddiqua N, Mathew R, Sahu AK, Jamshed N, Bhaskararayuni J, Aggarwal P, Kumar A, Khan MA. High-dose versus low-dose intravenous nitroglycerine for sympathetic crashing acute pulmonary edema: a randomised controlled trial. Emerg Med J. 2024 Jan 22;41(2):96-102. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2023-213285. PMID: 38050078.
Wilkinson-Stokes M, Betson J, Sawyer S. Adverse events from nitrate administration during right ventricular myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Emerg Med J. 2023 Feb;40(2):108-113. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2021-212294. Epub 2022 Sep 30. PMID: 36180168.
Patterson T, Perkins GD, Perkins A, Clayton T, Evans R, Dodd M, Robertson S, Wilson K, Mellett-Smith A, Fothergill RT, McCrone P, Dalby M, MacCarthy P, Firoozi S, Malik I, Rakhit R, Jain A, Nolan JP, Redwood SR; ARREST trial collaborators. Expedited transfer to a cardiac arrest centre for non-ST-elevation out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (ARREST): a UK prospective, multicentre, parallel, randomised clinical trial. Lancet. 2023 Oct 14;402(10410):1329-1337. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01351-X. Epub 2023 Aug 27. PMID: 37647928.
Issa EC, Ware PJ, Bitange P, Cooper GJ, Galea T, Bengiamin DI, Young TP. The “Syringe Hickey”: An Alternative Skin Marking Method for Lumbar Puncture. J Emerg Med. 2023 Mar;64(3):400-404. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2023.01.013. PMID: 37019501.