Department Blog

Two students at the University of Maryland School of Medicine spent several weeks in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, talking with backcountry hikers about their ability to avoid emergencies and their preparedness in case one occurs. Using a written survey, Michael Yue, BA, MS-2, and David Spivey, BA, MS-3, collected information from 379 hikers. Michael presented the results as a poster, “Rocky Mountain National Park Hiker Preparedness Survey: Does Wilderness Medicine Training Correlate with Preparedness for Injury and Altitude Illness?,” at the 7th World Congress of Mountain & Wilderness Medicine, held in Telluride, Colorado, last week. Their faculty advisors and collaborators were Daniel Gingold, MD, MPH, and Douglas Sward, MD

Chrissie Tupe, MD, and Mike McCurdy, MD, published a case report (“A Fatal Case of Eczema Herpeticum with Septic Shock Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus”) in the July issue of the American Journal of Critical Care. In collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Medicine, they describe the clinical challenges presented by an immunocompromised woman whose undifferentiated rash became complicated by scabies, herpes simplex virus infection, and MRSA.

Zach Dezman, MD, MS, and Sarah Sommerkamp, MD, RDMS, published a case report titled “A Woman with Vaginal Bleeding and an Intrauterine Device” in the July issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. Their patient, who was pregnant despite her use of an IUD, was found to have a bicornuate uterus.

Geriatric Emergencies: A Discussion-Based Review was published by Wiley Blackwell earlier this month. Amal Mattu, MD, served as its editor-in-chief and Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD, as an associate editor. Chapters were contributed by Phil Magidson, MD (on the topic of ethical issues and end-of-life care, co-authored with Dr. Hirshon, and geriatric EDs); Nicholas Santavicca, MD, and Mike Winters, MD ("Back Pain”); Mercedes Torres, MD, and Siamak Moayedi, MD ("Dyspnea in the Elderly”); and Michael Bond, MD, and Ken Butler, DO (“Elder Abuse and Neglect”).

Laura Diegelmann, MD, RDMS, is a co-author of “Sonography in Hypotension and Cardiac Arrest (SHoC): Rates of Abnormal Findings in Undifferentiated Hypotension and During Cardiac Arrest as a Basis for Consensus on a Hierarchical Point of Care Ultrasound Protocol,” published in the April issue of Cureus. As a member of the international, multicenter study group, Dr. Diegelmann collected data from patients with hypotension being treated at Khayelitsha District Hospital in South Africa.

Larry D. Weiss, MD, JD, with colleagues from the University of California Irvine, analyzed records from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) related to allegations of patient dumping (refusing to provide service to patients for financial reasons). They found documentation of more than 6000 investigations, 40% of which found violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986. Three percent of the violations resulted in fines against hospitals and physicians, primarily for failing to screen and stabilize patients with emergency medical conditions. The findings are presented in the May issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine (17:245‒251).

Two emergency medicine faculty members have been elected to officer positions in the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM). Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, was elected as the Academy’s president-elect, and Wan-Tsu Wendy Chang, MD, was elected as its secretary. The purpose of the AWAEM, which is affiliated with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, is to promote the recruitment, retention, advancement, and leadership of women in academic emergency medicine through networking, mentoring, and research.

R. Gentry Wilkerson, MD, Hong Kim, MD, MPH, T. Andrew Windsor, MD, and Darren Mareiniss, MD, JD, published the article titled “The Opioid Epidemic in the United States” in the May issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. It includes a review of current laws designed to curb opioid abuse and a description of efforts to distribute the antidote, naloxone, to at-risk individuals for use in the out-of-hospital setting.

Stephen Thom, MD, PhD, Ming Yang, MD, and Veena Bhopale, PhD, along with their colleagues from the University of Split in Croatia and the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, published the article titled “The Impact of Predive Exercise on Repetitive SCUBA Diving” in the May issue of Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging.

Dr. Mike Winters has been elected to the office of treasurer on the Medical Executive Committee, the leadership body of the physician staff at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The committee is responsible for approving applications for medical staff appointments, overseeing the granting of medical privileges, and ensuring the quality of care provided through all of the medical center’s services. According to the medical staff bylaws, candidates for the elected officer positions must have demonstrated executive and administrative abilities and a history of constructive participation in medical staff activities. Their election is recognition from their peers of their clinical competence and leadership skills. Congratulations, Dr. Winters!