Department Blog - November 2019

Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, is among the authors of the article, “Acute Direct Traumatic Optic Neuropathy Treated With Steroids, Minocycline and Hyperbaric Oxygen: A Case Report” (abstract available), recently published in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. The authors describe the emergency management of a man who experienced acute vision loss diagnosed as direct traumatic optic neuropathy in his right eye (no light perception) after falling from a height. They conclude that immediate hyperbaric oxygen for ischemic and mechanical injury to the optic nerve following trauma is a therapeutic option.

Doug Sward, MD, and Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, are among the authors of the article, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Perioperative Posterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy: A Case Report” (abstract available), recently published in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. The authors report on the successful treatment of postoperative posterior ischemic optic neuropathy (PION) with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and review the current literature on the pathogenesis and treatment of PION.

EM:RAP (Emergency Medicine Reviews and Perspectives) recently unveiled its revolutionary new online textbook, CorePendium, and the Department of Emergency Medicine contributed in a big way, with far more involvement in the text than any other emergency medicine program in the United States.

CorePendium’s content is enriched with podcasts, videos, and other media and there are plans for quarterly updates. As Mel Herbert, EM:RAP’s founder and CEO puts it in this introductory video, “CorePendium is the grand unified educational experience and textbook that we’ve been marching towards for nearly 20 years.”

Contributions from our faculty:

Amal Mattu, MD, co-editor in chief

Mike Winters, MD:

• Associate editor, CorePendium
• Associate editor, Critical Procedures, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Thoracic and Respiratory Disorders sections

Semhar Tewelde, MD:

• Associate editor, CorePendium
• Associate editor, Dermatologic Disorders and Toxicologic Disorders sections
• Author, Pericardiocentesis chapter
• Co-author, Bradyarrhythmias chapter

Laura Bontempo, MD:

• Section editor, Head and Neck Disorders
• Co-author, Complications of Tracheostomies chapter

Sarah Dubbs, MD:

• Section editor, Hematologic/Oncologic/Immunologic Disorders
• Co-author, Infections of the Urogenital System chapter

Sara Manning, MD:

• Section editor, Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Co-author, Complications of Tracheostomies chapter

Mike Abraham, MS, section editor, Nervous System Disorders

Michael Bond, MD, section editor, Musculoskeletal Disorders

Ryan Spangler, MD, section editor, Renal and Urogenital Disorders

George Willis, MD, section editor, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders

Victoria Hammond, MD:

• Author, Eye Emergencies: Endophthalmitis, Glaucoma, Optic Neuritis, and Retinal Artery and Vein Occlusion chapters
• Co-author, Eye Emergencies: Uveitis chapter

David Gatz, MD, author, Dialysis and Renal Transplant Related Emergencies and Spinal Trauma chapters

Tu Nguyen, DO, author, Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders and Male Genitourinary Emergencies chapters

Neeraja Murali, DO, MPH, author, Appendicitis and Pancreatic Disease chapters

Kim Boswell, MD:

• Author, Thoracotomy chapter
• Co-author, Approach to the Patient with Multisystem Trauma chapter

Jay Menaker, MD

• Author, Upper and Lower Extremity Long Bone Injury chapter
• Co-author, Approach to the Patient with Multisystem Trauma chapter

Michele Callahan, MD, author, Sexual Assault Evaluation chapter

Joseph Martinez, MD, author, Mesenteric Ischemia chapter

Rupal Jain, MD, author, Ear Emergencies chapter

Siamak Moayedi, MD, co-author, Cardiac Pacing and HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis chapters

Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, co-author, Dental Trauma and Oral Cavity Infections chapters

Mercedes Torres, MD, co-author, Cardiac Pacing and HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis chapters

Mike Billet, MD, co-author, Seizures in Adults chapter

Elizabeth Clayborne, MD, co-author, Adrenal Emergencies chapter

Brent King, MD, co-author, Pediatric Resuscitation chapter

Jaron Santelli, MD, co-author, Tendinitis and Bursitis chapter

Bradford Schwartz, MD, co-author, Hemophilia and von Willebrand Disease chapter

Sarah Sommerkamp, MD, co-author, Infections of the Urogenital System chapter

R. Gentry Wilkerson, MD, co-author, Angioedema chapter

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM, FACPM, is among the authors of the article, “Correlation Between the Revised Trauma Score and Injury Severity Score: Implications for Prehospital Trauma Triage” (abstract available), published in Prehospital Emergency Care. The objectives of their study were to:

• Assess the correlation of the physiologically based Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and MGAP score (mechanism of injury, Glasgow Coma Scale, age, blood pressure) with the anatomically based Injury Severity Score
• Compare the accuracy of the MGAP score and the RTS for the prediction of in-hospital mortality for trauma patients

Mike Winters, MD, and colleagues have published a podcast episode, “TTM for Nonshockable Rhythms?” (paid subscription required), as part of their twice-monthly podcast, Critical Care Perspectives in Emergency Medicine (CCPEM). In this episode, the doctors discuss Lascarrou et al.’s recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, “Targeted Temperature Management for Cardiac Arrest with Nonshockable Rhythm” (abstract available). A companion PDF of key points and takeaways is available to podcast subscribers.

Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, has had an article, “Engaging emergency medicine influencers: lessons learned from the sex and gender interest group and the SAEM [Society for Academic Emergency Medicine] jeopardy game,” accepted for publication in AEM Education and Training. Keep an eye out for it!

William Fernandez, MD; Laura Bontempo, MD; and Zachary Dezman, MD, have had an article, “50-year-old Male with Chest Pain” (full text available), published in Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine. Published as a clinicopathological case from the University of Maryland, the article discusses the case of a patient who presented to the emergency department with four days of intermittent chest pain and shortness of breath, progressively worsening in severity, and takes the reader through the differential diagnosis and systematic work-up of the deadly causes of chest pain, ultimately leading to the man’s diagnosis.

Sarah Dubbs, MD, has been invited to speak on oncologic emergency topics at the November 2019 Asian Conference on Emergency Medicine (ACEM), which is expected to draw at least 2,000 attendees to New Delhi, India. The themes of this year’s ACEM are affordable care, bridging gaps, and creating impact.

Michael Grasso, MD, PhD, FACP; Zachary Dezman, MD; and David Jerrard, MD, are among the authors of an abstract published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, “Coding disparity and specificity during emergency department visits after transitioning to the tenth version of the International Classification of Disease [ICD-10]” (full text available), from the American College of Emergency Physicians’ 2019 Research Forum. The authors sought to evaluate whether the increased granularity inherent in ICD-10 has led to greater specificity in diagnosis and coding. They found that the distribution of diagnoses remained unchanged, but there were fewer encounters with multiple codes with ICD-10, and while the post-transition encounters used more unique codes, providers did not consistently exploit these to create more specific codes.

Kyle Fischer, MD, has had an article, “Prevention Professional for Violence Intervention: A Newly Recognized Health Care Provider for Population Health Programs,” accepted for publication in the February 2020 issue of Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. Keep an eye out for it!

Michael Bond, MD, is among the authors of “How Well Does the Standardized Video Interview Score Correlate with Traditional Interview Performance?” (full text available) published in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. The article reports on a study to determine whether a Standardized Video Interview score correlates with a traditional in-person interview score. Results suggest a small positive linear correlation.