Department Blog - February 2016

Danya Khoujah, MBBS, and Amal Mattu, MD, contributed the chapter on ischemic heart disease to the sixth edition of Emergency Medicine Secrets, published this month by Elsevier.

Eight members of the emergency medicine faculty traveled to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, last week, as invited speakers at the 2016 Rocky Mountain Winter Conference. Amal Mattu, MD, presented the keynote address, "Secrets of Success in Emergency Medicine...From the Princess Bride," and a lecture, “PEA: A Miracle Pill for the Mostly Dead!” The other participating faculty members and the titles of their presentations are as follows: Brian Browne, MD, "Free-Standing Emergency Departments," George Willis, MD, “The Crashing Aortic Dissection: Do's and Don'ts,” Wendy Chang, MD, “Status Epilepticus: Mistakes You Don't Want to Make!,” Michael Winters, MD, “Running the Perfect Code” and “Cutting Edge Resuscitation...Beyond the Golden Tower,” Haney Mallemat, MD, “Critical Care Ultrasound: Beyond the FAST” and “More Than Morning Sickness: The Critically Ill Pregnant Patient,” Semhar Tewelde, MD, “Syncope Disasters,” and Michael Abraham, MD, "Dazed and Confused--How to Save Every Last Neuron!” The conference was sponsored by Denver Health Medical Center.

Seth Ball, MD, and Sarah Moreland, MD, both EM/PEDS residents, published an aritcle on apparent life-threatening events in newborns and infants in the February/March issue of EM Resident. The authors summarize the elusive differential diagnosis of this presentation and present strategies for ED workup. Most cases will be linked to gastroesophageal reflux, seizure, or respiratory infection, but almost half of patients leave the ED without a clear diagnosis.