Acute mental status changes after the ingestion of alcohol or other substances are a common presentation to the ED. Those with severe obtundation may require intubation for airway protection while the substance metabolizes. In fact, more than 20,000 patients are intubated each year in the United States for acute poisoning or intoxication. Notwithstanding, intubation and mechanical ventilation are not benign procedures. In this podcast we discuss the recently published NICO Trial, that evaluated a strategy of withholding intubation in patients with coma due to acute poisoning.
The use of a PEEP recruitment maneuver is common among ventilated patients with refractory hypoxemia. However, a recent JAMA study questions whether we should...
As bitter cold temperatures grip the Northeast, many struggle to stay warm and often resort to nontraditional methods of heating. As a result, there...
Respiratory distress in the patient with a tracheostomy can incite fear in even the most seasoned emergency physician or intensivist. In this episode, we...