Department Blog - September 2015

Documenting his ongoing studies of the role of microparticles in decompression sickness, Stephen Thom, MD, PhD, recently published two articles in the applied physiology literature. His research team of Ming Yang, MS, Veena Bhopale, PhD, and Jasjeet Bhullar, PhD, along with colleagues from the University of Split in Croatia, published “Ascorbic Acid Supplementation Diminishes Microparticle Elevations and Neutrophil Activation Following SCUBA Diving” in the August issue of the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integration and Comparative Physiology. Dr. Thom is the lead author of “Association of Microparticles and Neutrophil Activation with Decompression Sickness,” published in the September issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. That article presents the findings of an international collaborative investigation, with contributions from Dr. Yang, Dr. Bhopale, and Douglas Sward, MD, along with colleagues from California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, and Sweden.

Rose Chasm, MD, and Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, published an article in the Images in Emergency Medicine column in the October issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. The article describes an 11-year-old girl with nasal congestion, fever, and blurred vision in her right eye. The authors’ description of the diagnostic process and treatment strategy can be read at www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(14)01403-6/pdf.

Michael Bond, MD, is a co-author of “Recommendations from the Council of Residency Directors (CORD) Social Media Committee on the Role of Social Media in Residency Education and Strategies on Implementation,” published in the July issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. The recommendations were drafted by CORD’s Social Media Committee, discussed during a day-long forum at CORD's 2014 Academic Assembly, and then refined by a panel of 22 emergency medicine residency program directors and social media experts. The refinement process took place on Google Groups, an online discussion platform.

Ken Butler, DO, has been named the 2015 recipient of the Janice A. Wachtler Educator of the Year Award from the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians (ACOEP). The award recognizes Dr. Butler’s education of residents at the University of Maryland, his contribution to the educational literature, his dedication to medical education on a worldwide basis, and his support of continuing medical education within ACOEP and other emergency medicine associations. The award will be presented during ACOEP’s Scientific Assembly, to be held in Orlando in October.

Ming Yang, MS, Veena Bhopale, PhD, and Stephen Thom, MD, PhD, recently published two articles in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The July issue contains their article titled “Ascorbic Acid Abrogates Microparticle Generation and Vascular Injuries Associated with High-Pressure Exposure.” Their article in the August issue is titled “Separating the Roles of Nitrogen and Oxygen in High Pressure-Induced Blood-Borne Microparticle Elevations, Neutrophil Activation, and Vascular Injury in Mice.”

Christina Tupe, MD, is a co-author of the article titled “In-Flight Medical Emergencies during Commercial Travel,” published in the September 3 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The lead author is J.V. Nable, MD, NRP, a 2012 graduate of our EM residency and former clinical instructor on our faculty (now at Georgetown University). The article discusses the resources available to physicians who are asked to provide medical care to airline passengers, the associated legal responsibilities and ramifications, and suggested responses to specific medical conditions. It is available at www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1409213.

Amal Mattu, MD, was the keynote speaker for the U.S. Army Emergency Medicine Leadership Conference held in Tacoma, Washington, on August 31. The title of his address was "Everyday Leadership: Secrets of Great Minds Through the Ages." He also presented a lecture on "Acute Coronary Syndromes in the Elderly Patient."

Semhar Tewelde, MD, and Joshua Reynolds, MD, MS, guest edited the August issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. The topic is cardiovascular emergencies. Most of the articles in this issue were written by current and former EM faculty members and residents:

• “Cardiovascular Catastrophes in the Obstetric Population” by Sarah Dubbs, MD, and Dr. Tewelde
• “The Critically Ill Infant with Congenital Heart Disease” by Ashley Strobel, MD, and Mimi Lu, MD, MS
• “Blunt Cardiac Injury,” co-authored by Evie Marcolini, MD
• “Chameleons: Electrocardiogram Imitators of ST-Segment Elevation MI” by J.V. Nable, MD, NRP, and Ben Lawner, DO, MS, EMT-P
• “Hypertensive Emergencies in the Emergency Department” by Yemi Adebayo, MD, and Rob Rogers, MD
• “Congestive Heart Failure” by Michael Scott, MD, and Mike Winters, MD
• “Atrial Fibrillation,” co-authored by Laura Bontempo, MD
• “Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection-Related Heart Disease” by Thuy Van Pham, MD, and Mercedes Torres, MD
• “Management of Crashing Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension” by John Greenwood, MD, and Ryan Spangler, MD
• “Cardiogenic Shock,” “Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation,” and “Postcardiac Arrest Management,”co-authored by Josh Moskovitz, MD, MPH, MBA
• “Emergency Care of Patients with Pacemakers and Defibrillators” by Michael Allison, MD, and Haney Mallemat, MD

Our department was a hosting institution for the 8th Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress, held in Rome in early September. Eight of our faculty members traveled to Italy to participate in this international event. Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, served on the Executive Committee of the conference. Amal Mattu, MD, was a keynote speaker, presenting his lecture titled “Becoming the Leader Others Follow.” Also traveling to Italy as invited speakers were Brian Browne, MD, Ken Butler, DO, Semhar Tewelde, MD, Larry Weiss, MD, JD, George Willis, and Mike Winters, MD. Collectively, they led two pre-courses, presented more than 30 lectures, and moderated several panels. The conference drew more than 950 participants from 61 countries, with 105 speakers from around the world.