Department Blog

Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, and Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, PhD, MHS, co-authored the article titled "Repeat Lactate Level Predicts Mortality Better Than Rate of Clearance," pubilshed in the November issue of American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Their collaborators in this project were three investigators who have been studying the fine points of trauma epidemiology and resuscitation for decades: Peter Hu, MS, PhD, and Colin Mackenzie, MD,ChB, from the Department of Anesthesiology, and Gordon Smith, MB,ChB, MPH, from the Department of Epidemiology and Pubic Health, as well as Thomas Scalea, MD, The Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor in Trauma Surgery. The statistician for this work was Angela Comer, MS, formerly affliated with the National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems.


The use of buprenorphine in the ED at UMMC’s Midtown Campus is discussed in a recent article in the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/facing-an-overdose-epidemic-some-ers-now-offer-addiction-treatment/2018/10/26/1829df84-c73f-11e8-9b1c-a90f1daae309_story.html

In that article, Dr. Zachary Dezman explains that opioid-addicted patients seen “after hours” are offered an initial dose of the anti-addiction medication rather than simply being sent home and advised to go to a treatment center. Numerous studies have shown this “jumpstart” on treatment to be effective in helping people seek help and eventually kick their habit.


An unusual consequence of unconsciousness is described in a case report published earlier this month by Eric Friedman, MD, and Ken Butler, DO. “Not Just Another 'Found Down': Concomitant Upper Arm and Gluteal Compartment Syndrome” is available at the website of The Journal of Emergency Medicine (www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(18)30918-1/pdf).


Posted 10/26/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Dr. Hirshon Elected VP of ACEP

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, PhD, MPH, was elected Vice-President of the American College of Emergency Physicians at the organization’s Scientific Assembly in San Diego. His duties in this role include being the key liaison to the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association and to Annals of Emergency Medicine. ACEP, a national medical specialty society with 40,000 members, is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education.


Posted 9/21/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Treating Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine in the ED

Dr. Zachary Dezman is featured in an article published today by The PEW Charitable Trusts:

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/09/21/most-hospital-ers-wont-treat-your-addiction-these-will


Posted 9/14/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Dr. Dezman on Fox45 News This Morning

Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, was a guest on today's morning news broadcast from Fox45, discussing the surprising results of a study designed to identify drugs used by ED patients being treated for overdose. You can watch the full segment here:

https://foxbaltimore.com/morning/synthetic-drug-testing

Marijuana was the individual drug most commonly detected. Only one sample tested positive for a synthetic cannabinoid. The results suggest that street drugs are being packaged in new combinations not detected by standard ED tests. The investigators also found that the drugs patients claimed to have taken (and the drugs the physicians assumed they had taken) often did not match the metabolites detected by the analysis.

The study and its findings are more fully described at this site:

https://ndews.umd.edu/resources/drug-early-warning-re-testing-biological-samples-maryland-hospital-study


Jenny Guyther, MD, and Rich Lichenstein, MD, are the lead authors of the article titled "Association of Influenza Outbreaks with Advanced Pediatric Medical Support," published in the August issue of Epidemiology & Infection (2018;146:1366-71). Their study documented increased hospitalizations and ICU admissions as well as the use of mechanical ventilation during influenza outbreaks by children with medically attended acute respiratory illness.


Posted 9/1/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Treating Alcohol Abuse in Tanzania

Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD, participated in a research collaboration between Duke University Medical Center and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania. The purpose of the NIH-funded study was to assess attitudes and practices among emergency care providers in Tanzania regarding the use of interventions for their alcohol-abusing patients. The findings will be applied to the design of educational programs for medical personnel and strategies to reduce alcohol consumption among people who seek emergency medical care. Observations from this study are published in the September issue of the journal Alcohol.


Posted 8/28/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Case Report: Prisoner with Abdominal Pain

T. Andrew Windsor, MD, published the case report titled "An 18-Year-Old Prisoner with Abdominal Pain" in the June issue of Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine. His co-author is Anna Darby, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine resident at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Their article was published in the engaging format of the journal's section for Clinicopathological Cases from the University of Maryland, in which a resident describes a patient's presentation and then an attending presents his or her thought process for the assessment and diagnosis.


Posted 8/21/2018 by Linda Kesselring

Patient's Daughter Thanks UMMC Midtown Campus

http://intra.umms.org/midtown/news/2018/08/mary-lamon-story