Nightmares Case 4: Pulmonary Embolism

December 3, 2019December 2, 2019 / Chris Heyd / Leave a comment

This is the fourth in a case series we will be publishing that make up “The Nightmares Course”.

The Nightmares Course at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) was developed in 2011 by Drs. Dan Howes and Mike O’Connor. The course emerged organically in response to requests from first year residents wanting more training in the response to acutely unwell patients. In 2014, Dr. Tim Chaplin took over as the course director and has expanded the course to include first year residents from 14 programs and to provide both formative feedback and summative assessment. The course involves 4 sessions between August and November and a summative OSCE in December. Each session involves 4-5 residents and covers 3 simulated scenarios that are based on common calls to the floor. The course has been adapted for use at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Calgary.

Why it Matters

The first few months of residency can be a stressful time with long nights on call and the adjustment to a new level of responsibility. While help should always be available, the first few minutes of managing a decompensating patient is something all junior residents must be competent at. This case series will help to accomplish that through simulation.

Clinical Vignette

It’s 1:00 AM and you’ve been called to assess a 69 year old woman admitted to the Gyne Oncology unit. She was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is actively receiving chemotherapy. Her repeat CT showed decreased tumor burden and the plan is for surgery tomorrow. She was admitted pre-op to receive a blood transfusion for a Hb of 72. The transfusion ended 4 hours ago and was tolerated well. Approximately 30 min ago, the patient started developing shortness of breath and central chest discomfort.

Case Summary

This case involves the approach to the patient with acute dyspnea. The patient is tachypneic but with an otherwise normal respiratory exam. ECG shows new right heart strain. The team should consider multiple possibilities but recognize PE as the most likely cause.

The team is expected to appropriately call for help while initiating management. The patient will decompensate and arrest – thrombolytics should be discussed. After the patient achieves ROSC, the resident will provide handover to the code blue team.

Download here

Nightmare Care #4 – PE

Chest X-ray for the Case

Source: https://openpress.usask.ca/undergradimaging/chapter/pulmonary-thromboembolism/

EKG for the Case

Source: https://litfl.com/ecg-changes-in-pulmonary-embolism/

Nightmares Case 2: Pneumonia

November 5, 2019 / Chris Heyd / Leave a comment

This is the second in a case series we will be publishing that make up “The Nightmares Course”.

Why it Matters

Clinical Vignette

Mr. Jim Smith is a 64 year old male that was admitted 3 days ago. He was diagnosed with a community acquired pneumonia and started on daily Moxifloxacin. The nurse is concerned about his increasing shortness of breath since she started the night shift 4 hours ago.

Case Summary

In this case, the patient has been admitted for pneumonia and treated with the usual antibiotics. However, the team has not yet recognized that the causative bacteria is resistant to this antibiotic. The pneumonia has progressed and the team must manage the patient’s respiratory distress and sepsis. The patient requires a change in antibiotics, non-invasive ventilatory support and IV fluid resuscitation.

Download the Case Here

Nightmares Course #2: Pneumonia

EKG for the Case

Pulmonary disease pattern COPD ECG — EKG: https://litfl.com/ecg-in-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/

Chest X-ray for the Case

Chest X-ray: https://radiopaedia.org/cases/right-upper-lobe-pneumonia-8

Palliative Respiratory Case

May 8, 2018May 7, 2018 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Alexandra Stefan. Dr. Stefan is an emergency medicine physician and the Postgraduate Site Director for Emergency Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. She is also an assistant professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her areas of interest are postgraduate medical education, simulation (has completed the Harvard Centre for Medical Simulation training course) and global health education (has participated in teaching trips with Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration).

Why it Matters

Emergency medicine training is often focused on the many interventions we can make when a patient arrives in distress. This case highlights that sometimes, one of the most important interventions is to determine a patient’s goals of care. It specifically highlights:

The importance of pain management as a part of end of life care
The need to speak clearly and without medical jargon to establish a patient’s wishes
That goals of care conversations often happen in the ED through a substitute decision maker, rather than with the patient directly.

Clinical Vignette

“A 72 year old man from home with acute shortness of breath has just been placed in the resuscitation room. He has a history of lung cancer and is on 2L home oxygen. His daughter Cindy called 911 because he has been getting worse since this morning. He just finished a course of antibiotics for presumed pneumonia. He is on hydromorph contin and prochlorperazine. No allergies. Here is his most recent oncology clinic note.”

Case Summary

A 72-year old male with small cell lung cancer and bony metastases presents with acute shortness of breath. Curative treatment has been stopped and palliative care assessment is pending. He is on home oxygen and has come to the ED as his symptoms could not be controlled at home.

The patient initially improves with oxygen and pain control. He is too confused to engage in discussion about advanced directives. No previous advanced directives or level of care have been documented but, Cindy, the patient’s daughter is available to act as decision maker. She will have a number of questions about her father’s care.

The patient’s respiratory status will deteriorate. Cindy will confirm her father’s wish for comfort measures, to be started by the treating team.

Download the case here: Palliative Resp Case

Download the clinic note required for the case here: Med Onc Note

ECG for the case found here:

ecg sob case

(ECG source: http://www.thecrashcart.org/case-2-post-partum-palpitations/)

CXR for the case found here:

pleural effusion

(CXR source: https://radiopaedia.org/cases/pleural-effusion-7)

Cardiac Ultrasound for the case found here:

(U/S image courtesy of McMaster PoCUS Subspecialty Training Program.)

Pediatric Difficult Airway

February 27, 2018February 25, 2018 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Jonathan Pirie. He is a staff physician in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Pirie is also the Director of Simulation for Pediatric Emergency Medicine and the Simulation Fellowship program. His simulation interests include development of core curricula for postgraduate training programs, in-situ team training, and mastery learning with competency based simulation for trainees and faculty in pediatric technical skills and resuscitation.

Why it Matters

While croup makes stridor a relatively common presentation in the Pediatric ED, today it is quite rare to have a child with stridor who requires definitive airway management. It is exceedingly rare for an Emergency physician to need to proceed to cricothyroidotomy on a child. This case highlights the following:

The initial management steps for a child with undifferentiated, severe stridor
The need to call for help early
The steps required for a needle cricothyroidotomy and the equipment necessary to ventilate a child after this procedure is performed

Clinical Vignette

You are working in the ED, and your team has been called urgently to see a 2-year-old old boy with difficulty breathing. The patient was brought in by his mother, who states he’s had a 2-day history of runny nose. Today he developed a barking cough with fever, and is “breathing with a funny noise.”

Case Summary

The ED team is called to manage a 2-year-old boy in severe respiratory distress with stridor and hypoxia. Initial management steps (humidified O2, nebulized epinephrine and dexamethasone) fail to improve the patient’s respiratory status, and the team must prepare for a difficult intubation. They will encounter difficulties with both bagging and passing the endotracheal tube due to airway edema, which will necessitate an emergency needle cricothyroidotomy.

Download the case here: Pediatric Difficult Airway

Intubation with Missing BVM

January 16, 2018January 15, 2018 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Drs. Andrew Petrosoniak and Nicole Kester-Greene. Dr. Andrew Petrosoniak is an emergency physician and trauma team leader at St. Michael’s Hospital. He’s an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and an associate scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. Dr. Nicole Kester-Greene is a staff physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in the Department of Emergency Services and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine. She has completed a simulation educators training course at Harvard Centre for Medical Simulation and is currently Director of Emergency Medicine Simulation at Sunnybrook.

Why it Matters

Emergency medicine is about anticipating the worst and preparing for it . This case highlights this perfectly. In particular, it emphasizes:

The need to have a mental (or physical) checklist to ensure all necessary equipment is available at the bedside before starting a procedure
The complex nature of managing an immunocompromised patient with respiratory illness
The role for intubation in a hypoxic patient

Clinical Vignette

You are working in a large community ED. The triage nurse tells you that she has just put a patient in the resuscitation room. He is a 41-year old man with HIV. He is known to be non-compliant with his anti-retrovirals. He noticed progressive shortness of breath over 3-4 days and has had a dry cough for 10 days. His O₂ sat was in the 80s at triage.

Case Summary

A 41-year old male with HIV (not on treatment) presents to the ED with a cough for 10 days, progressive dyspnea and fever. He is hypoxic at triage and brought immediately to the resuscitation room. He has transient improvement on oxygen but then has progressive worsening of his hypoxia and dyspnea. Intubation is required. The team needs to prepare for RSI and identify that the BVM is missing from the room prior to intubation.

Download the case here: Intubation with Missing BVM

CXR for the case found here:

PJP pneumonia

(CXR source: https://radiopaedia.org/cases/35823)

PE with Bleeding

November 21, 2017November 19, 2017 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Donika Orlich. She is a staff physician practising in the Greater Toronto Area. She completed both her Emergency Medicine training and Clinician Educator Diploma at McMaster University.

Why it Matters

Many simulation cases that deal with pulmonary embolism seem to focus on the decision to administer thrombolytics (usually upon a patient’s arrest). This case is different. While the team must administer thrombolytics to a patient with known pulmonary embolism, the catch is that they must then also recognize shock as a result of intra-abdominal bleeding. As a result, the case highlights the following:

The dose of thrombolytics to be used in the context of cardiac arrest
The importance of an approach to undifferentiated shock after ROSC. (It’s not all cardiogenic!)
That bleeding is a complication of thrombolysis. This is drilled into our brains as the major complication, but somehow it is diagnostically challenging to recognize.

Clinical Vignette

You are called urgently to the bedside of a patient who is in the Emergency Department awaiting medicine consultation. Your colleague saw her earlier. She is 63 years old and has a CT-confirmed pulmonary embolism. She had presented with shortness of breath on exertion in the context of a recent hysterectomy 4 weeks ago. She has been stable in the ED until she got up to go to the bathroom and suddenly developed severe shortness of breath.

Case Summary

A 63-year-old female is in the Emergency Department awaiting internal medicine consultation for a diagnosed pulmonary embolism. She suddenly becomes very short of breath while walking to the bathroom and the team is called to assess. The patent will then arrest, necessitating thrombolysis. After ROSC, she will stabilize briefly but then develop increasing vasopressor requirements. The team will need to work through the shock differential diagnosis and recognize free fluid in the abdomen as a complication of thrombolysis requiring surgical consultation and transfusion.

Download the case here: PE with Bleeding

ECG for the case found here:

Massive PE ECG

(ECG source: https://lifeinthefastlane.com/ecg-library/pulmonary-embolism/)

Initial CXR for the case found here:

normal female CXR radiopedia

(CXR source: https://radiopaedia.org/cases/normal-chest-radiograph-female-1)

Post-intubation CXR for the case found here:

normal-intubation2

(CXR source: https://emcow.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/normal-intubation2.jpg)

Pericardial ultrasound for the case found here:

Normal lung ultrasound for the case found here:

Abdominal free fluid ultrasound for the case found here:

RUQ FF

(All ultrasound images are courtesy of McMaster PoCUS Subspecialty Training Program.)

Anaphylaxis (+/- Laryngospasm)

September 12, 2017June 27, 2017 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Donika Orlich. She is a staff physician practising in the Greater Toronto Area. She completed her Emergency Medicine training at McMaster University and also completed a fellowship in Simulation and Medical Education.

Why it Matters

Anaphylaxis is a fairly frequent presentation to the ED. However, severe anaphylaxis requiring multiple epinephrine doses and airway management is quite rare. This case is challenging on its own merit simply due to the stress of intubating an impending airway obstruction. However, if learners are faced with laryngospasm as a complication of anaphylaxis, this case takes on even more important lessons, including:

The surprising and unexpected nature of laryngospasm
The role of Larson’s point in trying to resolve laryngospasm
How quickly children desaturate, and develop resultant bradycardia, as a consequence of laryngospasm

For an excellent review of the management of laryngospasm, click here.

Clinical Vignette

A 7-year-old boy arrives via EMS with increased work of breathing. He has a known allergy to peanuts and developed symptoms after eating birthday cake at a party. He has been given 0.15mg IM epinephrine 10 minutes ago by his mother. Current vital are: HR 140, BP 85/60, RR 40, O2 98% on NRB. He has some ongoing wheeze noted by EMS.

Case Summary

A 7-year-old male presents with wheeze, rash and increased WOB after eating a birthday cake. He has a known allergy to peanuts. The team must initiate usual anaphylaxis treatment including salbutamol for bronchospasm. The patient will then develop worsened hypotension, requiring the start of an epinephrine infusion. After this the patient will experience increased angioedema, prompting the team to consider intubation. If no paralytic is used for intubation (or if intubation is delayed), the patient will experience laryngospasm. The team will be unable to bag-mask ventilate the patient until they ask for either deeper sedation or a paralytic. If a paralytic is used, the team will be able to successfully intubate the child.

Download the case here: Anaphylaxis

Initial CXR for the case found here:

normal pediatric CXR

(CXR source: http://radiology-information.blogspot.ca/2015/04/normal-chest-x-ray.html)

Post-intubation CXR for the case found here:

Normal Pediatric Post-Intubation CXR

(CXR source: http://jetem.org/ettcxr/)

Anaphylaxis with Angioedema

May 9, 2017May 8, 2017 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Ahmed Taher. He is an Emergency Medicine resident at the University of Toronto and a Masters of Public Health Student at Johns Hopkins University. He developed his appreciation and excitement for simulation while previously employed as a Primary Care Paramedic for York Region EMS.

Why it Matters

Anaphylaxis is a fairly common presentation to the ED. However, it is rare to see truly severe anaphylaxis. This case exposes learners to the most feared complication of anaphylaxis – angioedema requiring surgical airway management. In particular, it highlights:

The importance of initiating early treatment for anaphylaxis with epinephrine (and removing ongoing allergen exposure, if possible)
The need to intubate early in patients with signs of airway compromise not immediately responding to epinephrine
The fact that the “decision to cut” is crucial (and arguably the most challenging part of a surgical airway)
The steps required for a successful cricothyrotomy

Clinical Vignette

You are working a night shift at your local Emergency Department. You are called STAT to the bedside of a patient in the department who was seen by your colleague earlier and has recently been started on IV ceftriaxone for a pyelonephritis. You recall from handover that this is a 45-year-old previously healthy female patient with a diagnosis of a UTI two weeks ago, who returned after failing treatment and was diagnosed with pyelonephritis today. The nurse tells you she started the IV antibiotics and fluids 20 min ago, and then started to experience respiratory distress and a full body rash.

Case Summary

A 45-year-old patient who has already been seen in the ED begins treatment for pyelonephritis with IV antibiotics. Soon after initiated, she develops stridor and respiratory distress, as part of an anaphylactic reaction. The team is called into the room to assess the patient. After standard anaphylaxis treatment is given, the airway is still of concern. Intubation attempts are not successful and the patient will need a surgical airway.

Download the case here: Anaphylaxis with Angioedema

ECG for the case found here:

sinus-tachycardia

(ECG source: https://lifeinthefastlane.com/ecg-library/sinus-tachycardia/)

CXR for the case found here:

normal female CXR radiopedia

(CXR source: https://radiopaedia.org/cases/normal-chest-radiograph-female)

Newborn Sepsis with Apneas

April 11, 2017April 10, 2017 / kcaners / 1 Comment

This case is written by Dr. Rob Woods. He works in both the adult and pediatric emergency departments in Saskatoon and has been working in New Zealand for the past year. He is the founder and director of the FRCP EM residency program in Saskatchewan.

Why it Matters

This case highlights important manifestations of sepsis in a neonate. In particular, it reinforces that:

Apneas, hypoglycemia, and hypothermia are commonly seen as a result of systemic illness in neonates
Prolonged or persistent apneas with associated desaturations require management with either high-flow oxygen or intubation
Fluid resuscitation and broad-spectrum antibiotics are important early considerations when managing toxic neonates

Clinical Vignette

To be stated by the Paramedic with the Resus Nurse at bedside: “We picked up this term 3-day old male infant at their GPs office. Mom reports poor feeding for the past 12 hours, and two episodes of vomiting. They took him to the GPs office this morning and they found the temperature to be quite low at 33.1°C. They called us concerned about sepsis. We were only 5 minutes away so we have not obtained IV access. We did obtain a glucose level of 2.7. The child is lethargic and has very poor perfusion – peripheral cap refill is 7 seconds. We don’t have a cuff to get an accurate BP but the HR is 190.”

Case Summary

A 3-day-old term male infant is brought to the ED by EMS after being seen at their Family Physician’s office with a low temperature (33.1^oC). The child has been feeding poorly for about 12 hours, and has vomited twice. He is lethargic on examination and poorly perfused with intermittent apneas lasting ~ 20 seconds. He requires immediate fluid resuscitation and broad-spectrum antibiotics. His perfusion will improve after IVF boluses, however the apneas will persist and necessitate intubation.

Download the case here: Newborn Sepsis with Apneas

Initial CXR for the case found here:

Normal neonatal CXR

(CXR source: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/414608-overview)

Post-intubation CXR for the case found here:

Post-intubation CXR neonate

(CXR source: https://radiopaedia.org/articles/neonatal-pneumonia)

Massive Pulmonary Embolism

December 20, 2016December 19, 2016 / kcaners / Leave a comment

This case is written by Dr. Kyla Caners. She is a staff emergency physician in Hamilton, Ontario and the Simulation Director of McMaster University’s FRCP-EM program. She is also one of the Editors-in-Chief here at EmSimCases.

Why it Matters

The management of massive pulmonary embolism is one that requires rapid action and decisive decision-making, often based on less information than one would like. This case highlights several key features of the management of a massive PE, including:

The importance of recognizing the signs of PE and using basic bedside investigations to aid in diagnosis when a patient is too unstable for confirmatory CT
The need to maintain quality ACLS care when a patient arrests, regardless of arrest etiology
The use of thrombolytics during cardiac arrest to treat a suspected pulmonary embolism

Clinical Vignette

A 46 year old male presents to the ED complaining of shortness of breath and pleuritic chest pain. He broke his ankle a week ago and has been in a cast since. He was just discharged home after operative repair 2 days ago.

Case Summary

A 46 year old male with a cast on his left leg from a bad ankle fracture presents to the ED complaining of pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. The team will take a history and start workup when the patient will suddenly state he’s “not feeling well” and then arrest. The team will perform ACLS consistent with the PEA algorithm and should consider IV thrombolytics. If IV thrombolytics are administered, the patient will have ROSC.