Department Blog - October 2015

The October 8th edition of EMResident, published by the Emergency Medicine Residents Association, contains an article by Chris Lemon, MD, Chief Resident, and Ashley Strobel, MD, a 2015 graduate of our Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics Residency. You can read their article, titled “The Options for Training in Pediatric Emergency Medicine,” at www.emresident.org/the-options-for-training-in-pediatric-emergency-medicine/?_cldee=bWlrZWhvbGRzd29ydGg5OTk5QGdtYWlsLmNvbQ%3d%3d.

A conversation between Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, and Greg Henry, MD, a past president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, on the topic of the role of faith in medicine, was published in the August 17th issue of Emergency Physicians Monthly. The transcript, published as “The Soul of the Matter: Can Believing in God Make You a Better Doctor?,” is available at the journal’s website, epmonthly.com, under Dr. Henry’s column, “Oh Henry.” Because the conversation drifted toward quantum theory, Jason Bryslawskyj, a physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, was invited to offer clarifying commentary.

Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, is the lead author of the article titled “Failure to Clear Elevated Lactate Predicts 24-Hour Mortality in Trauma Patients,” published in this month's issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. His study collaborators and co-authors are Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD; Angela Comer, MPH, and Gordon Smith, MBChB, MPH, (from the National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems); and Mayur Narayan, MD, MPH, MBA, and Thomas Scalea, MD (from the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center).

Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, served as an advisor to the first meeting of emergency medicine executives representing the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The purpose of the meeting, held in Bangkok in mid-September, was to begin to integrate emergency health care resources in the region, to develop and coordinate training and research opportunities, and to lay the foundation for the formation of the ASEAN Emergency Medicine Network. ASEAN was formed in 1967 as an economic and political organization that encourages the region’s economic growth, standard of living, and international collaboration. Its members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Bryan D. Hayes, PharmD, is participating in a workgroup convened by the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology to discuss and clarify the clinic applications of intravenous lipid therapy. Lipid emulsion has been used for about 10 years to counter cardiovascular collapse induced by local and regional anesthetics and, more recently, in the management of overdoses of lipophilic drugs. The purpose of the workgroup is to review the relevant medical literature and then develop evidence-based clinical guidelines. The structure and strategy of the group are described in the July issue of Clinical Toxicology (2015;53[6]:557‒564).