Department Blog - March 2020

Stephen Thom, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was among the authors of “Blood-Borne and Brain-Derived Microparticles in Morphine-Induced Anti-Nociceptive Tolerance” (abstract available), which was accepted on January 24, 2020 for publication in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Sarah Dubbs, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was featured in the January 22, 2020, episode, “Critical Care of Cancer Therapy Toxicities” (full audio and companion handout with paid subscription) of the twice-monthly podcast, Critical Care Perspectives in Emergency Medicine. Mike Winters, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was also among the discussants.

Jason Adler, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was featured in a March 26 Fox News story, "Doctors in distress, quarantine send SOS for more protective gear, tests: 'It’s a complete mess' " (full text available).

Quoted along with other doctors, Adler stated, “We're probably going to get infected. Some people will do better than others, but it's probably going to happen. As an ER physician, I think the likelihood is very high. I am concerned about the mental health of our front line health care workers. ... It's tough, we run into the fires and not away from them. But at the same time. It's very valuable to recognize that this is not normal."

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM, FACPM, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was co-awarded a grant of access to robust, highly valued data sets from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) as part of RWJF’s “Health Data for Action” research program. Dr. Hirshon and his co-awardee, Ian Stockwell, PhD, MA, Senior Director of Analytics and Research/Chief Data Scientist at the Hilltop Institute, will be using the data in their research project, “An Evaluation of Alternatives to the 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure.” In addition, Drs. Hirshon and Stockwell were awarded a grant of $9,057 by the Department of Emergency Medicine and additional funding from University of Maryland, Baltimore County to carry out this research.

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM, FACPM, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was elected to two new positions in October 2019. He will serve as Chairman of the Board of the American College of Emergency Physicians for one year and Member of the Board of Trustees for the Emergency Medicine Foundation for three years.

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is the national medical society representing emergency medicine. Through continuing education, research, public education and advocacy, ACEP advances emergency care on behalf of its 40,000 emergency physician members and the more than 150 million Americans they treat on an annual basis. The Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1972 by visionary leaders of ACEP. EMF supports scientifically rigorous research and education that improves the care of the acutely ill and injured. To date, EMF has awarded more than $16 million in research grants to advance emergency medicine science and health policy.

Bradford Schwartz, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, and Quincy Tran, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, were among the authors of the abstract, “Accuracy of History of Present Illness Findings in Detecting Serious Head and Spinal Injury From Traumatic Near Shore Aquatic Injuries” (full text available), which was published in Annals of Emergency Medicine in October 2019.

Stephen Thom, MD, PhD, Professor, and Quincy Tran, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, were among the authors of “Transportation Management Affecting Outcomes of Patients With Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage” (abstract available), which was published in Air Medical Journal on January 14, 2020.

Elizabeth Clayborne, MD, MA, Adjunct Assistant Professor and co-leader of the health policy interest group, Department of Emergency Medicine, organized a Baltimore Washington Transforming Health Policy Forum Mixer, focused on health care plans in the 2020 election, on January 24, 2020. Kyle Fischer, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, hosted. The forum is a collaborative between the Departments of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland, the George Washington University, and Georgetown University with a mission to gather local clinicians and providers with interests in health policy for discussion and networking on controversial issues.

Abena Akomeah, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was second author of “Emergency Medicine Residency Training in Africa: Overview of Curriculum” (full text available), which was published in BMC Medical Education on July 31, 2019.

Abena Akomeah, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was lead author of “Emergency Medicine Registrar Training in Africa: Overview of Programmes, Faculty and Sustainability” (abstract available), which was published in Emergency Medicine Journal on January 7, 2020.

Mike Winters, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was among the discussants in the January 6 episode of the Critical Care Perspectives in Emergency Medicine podcast, “A Year in Review: Key Articles From the 2019 Critical Care Literature” (full audio available with paid subscription). In this episode, the doctors review several key articles published in the 2019 critical care literature that pertain to the resuscitation and management of select critically ill patients.

Daniel Haase, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was among the authors of “Ultrasonographic Inferior Vena Cava Diameter Response to Trauma Resuscitation After 1 Hour Predicts 24-Hour Fluid Requirement” (full text available), which was published in Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in January 2020.

Sarah Dubbs, MD, and Semhar Tewelde, MD, both Assistant Professors, Department of Emergency Medicine, were among the authors of “Male With Anterior Left Knee Pain” (full text available), which was published in Annals of Emergency Medicine in December 2019.

Bradford Schwartz, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, and Quincy Tran, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, were among the authors of “Predictors Among Emergency Department Patients With Suspected Spinal Injury From Near-Shore Activity [abstract 1774],” which was published in Critical Care Medicine in January 2020