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.
Rory Spiegel and Ken Butler join the podcast to discuss critical issues in intubating and ventilating the obese patient. What physiologic changes do you...
Though we’ve discussed the use of balanced solutions in the resuscitation of critically ill patients numerous times on CCPEM, the literature remains controversial with...
The COACT trial demonstrated no improvement in 90-day mortality for post-arrest patients without evidence of an ST-segment elevation MI who were randomized to immediate...