For some reason this past weekend was full of excitement in the ED. I work in a community ER which is NOT a trauma receiving centre - so we don’t get much “real” trauma. However, each of the three previous nights I worked (Fri, Sat, Sun) I had one stab wound the abdomen! […]

To some it apparently is. ER is a RELATIVELY new field (since the late 60’s/early 70’s) but not so new that people should not have some concept of what being trained in ER means and how members of the field practise. I often get the following question from patients who seem to like me […]

Bleeding was the theme of the night. My last night shift felt like it was spent stopping or dealing with bleeding most of the time.
Three GI bleeders: One severe lower GIB with a Hgb of 4.9, one coffee ground emesis with an Hgb of 7, and one melanotic stool with an Hgb of 7.5. […]

Remember that character on the Quick Draw McGraw cartoon, Billy the Little Kid? He was a 7 year old outlaw who holds up banks with his Peacemaker (see, you think just because I am a Brady Law supporter from the North, I would not know what that is). There is now a new kid outlaw […]

After:

Before:

I did not see this patient (the pics are circulating somewhere on the web) however it is pretty clear to say that there is a lesson learned: Don’t run in the house with a fork in your hand!

 Not something I would recommend - either for a therapeutic intervention or as a method of suicide!  I remember as an intern having another bizarre case of a depressed man trying to end it all.  He decided, after the mandatory 10 beers that nearly everyone consumes before such decisions are made, that the best way […]

Nothing spices up a boring, routine wedding like a good punch up, eh? This is more of a common occurrence than I think most people believe. The combination of free flowing liquor, families who may not approve of each other’s pedigree, and perhaps a broken beer bottle, you have yourself a recipe for a brawl.
I […]