Department Blog - June 2018

Siamak Moayedi, MD, and Michael Witting, MD, MS, published the article titled “No Radiographic Safe Margin Found in the ‘Easy IJ’ Internal Jugular Vein Procedure” in the July issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine (2018;55:29?33). The lead author is Ryan McCarter, MD, who was a student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine at the time of their study and is now an internal medicine resident at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina. Based on their observations, the investigators recommend assessment for pneumothorax with chest radiography or ultrasound following the Easy IJ procedure.

Dan Gingold, MD, MPH, and Doug Sward, MD, published the article titled “The Effect of Wilderness and Medical Training on Injury and Altitude Preparedness Among Backcountry Hikers in Rocky Mountain National Park,” in the World Journal of Emergency Medicine (2018;9:172-177). Medical students Michael Yue and David Spivey assisted them with data collection and analysis. Their survey of 380 hikers in 4 areas of the park showed that medically trained hikers were more likely to be prepared for altitude, medical emergencies, and trauma than their non-trained counterparts. Wilderness-trained hikers were more prepared for altitude sickness. These relationships likely reflect hikers’ awareness of hazards in the wilderness and the steps that can be taken to avoid them.