Department Blog

Todd Crocco, MD, has joined the Department of Emergency Medicine, at the academic rank of Professor and as its Director for Pre-Hospital Care and Telemedicine. In his previous position, he was Chief Business Development Officer at West Virginia University Health Sciences Center and Medical Director of WVU’s Clinical and Pharmacologic Research Center. Dr. Crocco received his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed the emergency medicine residency and an emergency medical services fellowship at the University of Cincinnati/University Hospital.

The 3rd Annual Emergency Cardiology Symposium, “Cardiac Conundrums in EM 2018,” was held on March 28 on the UMMC campus. The event drew 250 in-person attendees and 1300 Livestream viewers from around the world. Amal Mattu, MD, organized the program and invited nationally known specialists in emergency cardiology to lecture on cutting-edge topics in the management of cardiac emergencies in adults and children. The speakers included Mimi Lu, MD (“The Crashing Cardiac Kid”), current faculty member and 2008 graduate of our emergency medicine residency, and Suzanne DeMeester, MD (“Wonder Women: Exploring the Gender Gap in ACS”), a 2006 residency graduate, now an attending physician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. All of the lectures can be viewed at https://livestream.com/UMEmergencyMed/EMCard2018.

Brian Browne, MD, recently presented testimony to the United States Sentencing Commission during a hearing on fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and synthetic cannabinoids. He described a growing trend in the illicit drug trade, the addition of fentanyl to heroin packaging by “street pharmacists,” and its impact on unsuspecting users and on ambulance crews and emergency departments as they respond to overdoses. The commission, an independent agency within the judicial branch of the federal government, provides guidance to courts and assists in the development of crime policies. Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, assisted Dr. Browne with the preparation of his testimony and attended the hearing.

In a recent letter to the editor, Drs. Mak Moayedi and Michael Winters described the conversion of an Easy IJ into a multi-lumen central venous catheter. Their description can be found in the January issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine (54:132-133).

Nubia Seyoum, MD, Semhar Tewelde, MD, and Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, published the case report titled “Male with Severe Hypertension and Dyspnea” in the Visual Diagnosis in Emergency Medicine column of the January issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine (2018;54:e7-38).

Nicole Cimino-Fiallos, MD, Wan-Tsu W. Chang, MD, Laura J. Bontempo, MD, MEd, and Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, published the case report titled “54-Year-Old Female With a Syncopal Episode” in Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (2018;2[1]:1-6).

As a member of the Guideline Development Group of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Laura J. Bontempo, MD, MEd, co-authored “Clinical Practice Guideline: Evaluation of the Neck Mass in Adults Executive Summary,” which was published in the September 2017 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (157[3]:355-371). The full text of the guideline is available in a supplement to the same issue (157[2S]:S1-S30). Its primary purpose is to promote the efficient, effective, and accurate diagnostic workup of neck masses to ensure that adults with potentially malignant disease receive prompt diagnosis and intervention to optimize outcomes.

Amal Mattu, MD, co-authored the case report titled “Chest Pain in a Patient With a Left Bundle Branch Block,” which was published in the ECG of the Month column in the January issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine (2018;71[1]:117-119).

Semar Tewelde, MD, Stanley Liu, MD, and Michael Winters, MD, contributed the article titled “Cardiogenic Shock” to the February issue of Cardiology Clinics (“Emergency Cardiology: From ED to CCU”).

Tejusve Rao, DO, Anthony Roggio, MD, Zachary D.W. Dezman, MD, and Laura J. Bontempo, MD, MEd, published the case report titled “55-Year-Old Male with Bilateral Lower Extremity Weakness” in the November 2017 issue of Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine.