Department Blog

The article on electrical exposure risk during hands-on defibrillation, by Drs. Dan Lemkin, Michael Witting, Michael Allison, Ali Farzad, Michael Bond, and Mark Lemkin, has been named the Artice of the Month by the journal Resuscitation. The article reports measurements of voltages received during CPR techniques applied to cadavers. The authors concluded that rescuers are at risk of exposure to energy levels higher than accepted standards when a defibrillator is used and therefore recommend that rescuers “disconnect” from a patient when a shock is delivered.

Dr. Amal Mattu's newest book, Cardiovascular Emergencies, has been published by the American College of Emergency Physicians. The 21 chapters in this textbook discuss the cardiovascular conditions commonly encountered in the emergency department, “hot topics” such as bedside echocardiography and post-arrest care, and special populations (patients with cancer, HIV, pulmonary hypertension, and implanted devices; pregnant women; and transplant recipients). The concluding chapter discusses risk-management strategies in clinical practice. Chapters were contributed by EM faculty members John Greenwood, MD, Siamak Moayedi, MD, Semhar Tewelde, MD, Mercedes Torres, MD, amd Michael Winters, MD. The manuscripts were copyedited by Linda Kesselring, MS, ELS, our department's technical editor and writer.

Congratulations to Drs. J.V. Nable, John Greenwood, Mike Abraham, Michael Bond, and Mike Winters, whose article titled "Implementation of a Team-Based Physician Staffing Model at an Academic Emergency Department" was pubished in the September issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Amal Mattu, MD, was the Grand Rounds lecturer at the University of South Florida on August 28. He presented "Everyday Leadership: Secrets of Great Minds Through the Ages" for the emergency medicine program and: "Low Risk Chest Pain: Mythology, Mortality, and Malpractice" for the internal medicine program.

Bryan Hayes, PharmD, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology. This highest level of peer recognition within the organization acknowledges longstanding commitment to the field of toxicology and to the Academy.

Laura Pimentel, MD, is a co-author of a commentary titled "The Maryland Medicare Waiver and Emergency Care: Mixed Experiences Deserve Close Scrutiny." The article was published in the American Journal of Medical Qualiity. Dr. Pimentel collaborated with Drs. Jesse Pines and Steven Farmer, from George Washington University, on this publication.

The 2015 LLSA Reading List includes an article by Dr. Sarah Sommerkamp and Dr. Alisa Gibson, titled "Cardiovascular Disasters in Pregnancy." It was published in the November 2012 issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. The reading list has been posted on our intranet.

Dr. Brian Browne was one of seven speakers at a press conference held in the medical center on August 11 to announce government and corporate donations to The Bridge Project, which provides counseling and other assistance to domestic violence victims treated in the emergency department and Shock Trauma. The medical center received gifts of $50,000 from the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention (through the federal Victims of Crime Act) and $25,000 from Verizon, which will be used to make the Bridge Project's services available around the clock. Also on the panel that announced these awards were Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, Dr. Carnell Cooper (founder of Shock Trauma's Violence Intervention Program), and Dr. Deb Stein (Chief of Trauma, University of Maryland School of Medicine).

The August issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, on the topic of hematology/oncology emergencies, contains an article by Dr. Mike McCurdy and his colleagues Dr. Umar Kahn and Dr. Carl Shanholtz from the Division of Pumonary and Critical Care Medicine. The title of their article is "Oncologic Mechanical Emergencies." The issue was guest edited by Dr. Jack Perkins, a 2007 graduate of our residency and now an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Virginia Tech Carillon School of Medicine. Dr. Amal Mattu is the consulting editor for the EMCNA series.

Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, was a faculty member for the 12th Middle East Emergency Medicine Congress, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in early June. He presented two lectures: “Building a Geriatric Emergency Department” and “Literature Review for Pediatrics.” He also traveled to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman to present 3 hours of Grand Rounds lectures on clinical emergency medicine topics at Sultan Qaboos University.