Department Blog

T. Andrew Windsor, MD, and Kami M. Hu, MD, both collaborating with Amal Mattu, MD, are the lead authors of two chapters in Observation Medicine: Principles and Protocols, published by Cambridge University Press in September. Dr. Windsor wrote on the topic of syncope and Dr. Hu on stress testing.

Amal Mattu, MD, co-authored the article titled “The Differential Diagnosis of Wide QRS Complex Tachycardia,” published in the October issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine (35[10]:1525-9). He collaborated on this work with William Brady, MD, and John Ferguson, MD, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Jeffrey Tabas, MD, from San Francisco School of Medicine.

Sarah Dubbs, MD, and Amal Mattu, MD, are co-authors of the case report titled “Prinzmetal Angina (Coronary Vasospasm) Associated with 5-Fluorouracil Chemotherapy,” which was published in the July issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine (35[7]:1038.e3-5).

A commentary by Amal Mattu, MD, was published in the Emergency Medicine Viewpoints column of Medscape on September 15 (www.medscape.com/viewarticle/885676). Titled “Painless Aortic Dissection in the Emergency Department,” it summarizes the article by Kit Ling Fan and Ling Pong Leung, from the University of Hong Kong, in the April issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Based on the conclusions of that source article, “Clinical Profile of Patients of Acute Aortic Dissection Presenting to the ED Without Chest Pain,” Dr. Mattu advises that, for most medical conditions, including AAD, “classic” presentations exist only in textbooks and on board exams.

Michael Witting, MD, MS, Siamak Moayedi, MD, Latoya Brown, BS, and Ammar Ismail, MBBS, RDMS, published the article titled “Predictors and Delays Associated with the Need for Advanced Techniques for Intravenous Access” in the August issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine (53[2]:172-177).

Semhar Tewelde, MD, and Amal Mattu, MD, with William Brady, MD, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, published “Pitfalls in Electrocardiographic Diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Low-Risk Chest Pain” in the June issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (2017;18[4]:601-606).

R. Gentry Wilkerson, MD, is a guest editor of this month's issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, on the topic of observation medicine. He co-authored the preface with his colleague Christopher Baugh, MD, MBA, from Harvard Medical School and the article titled “Care of Acute Gastrointestinal Conditions in the Observation Unit” (35[3]:571-587]).

Zachary D.W. Dezman, MD, and Amal Mattu, MD, with Richard Body, MB ChB, PhD, Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK, published the article titled “Utility of the History and Physical Examination in the Detection of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Emergency Department Patients,” in the June issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (18[4]:752-760). Through a literature review, they evaluated whether atypical symptoms and "classic" symptoms can be used to reliably rule in or rule out the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome and whether further testing is necessary at all.

Joshua McClain, MD, and Zachary D.W. Dezman, MD, published a case report, “Japanese Immigrant with Abdominal Pain,” in the June issue of the Journal of Emergency Medicine (53[6]:e249-50). The patient's pain was presumably caused by a reflux condition, but radiographic evaluation incidentally revealed dozens of needle fragments in her subcutaneous tissues, left intentionally by a practitioner of Hari acupuncture.

Roger Stone, MD, MS, was an invited speaker for Maryland EMSCare 2017, the annual educational conference sponsored by Maryland’s Regional EMS Advisory Councils and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. The event was held in Ocean City in late April. Dr. Stone co-presented the lecture titled “What About ‘Reverse Specialty Centers’?: Alternative Transport Destinations That Can Receive Some of Our Lower Acuity EMS Patients.” He also was an instructor for a 2-hour airway management module for paramedics, which included a surgical airway lab and hands-on training in video laryngoscopy.