MCHD Paramedic Podcast

We have been fortunate here at MCHD to develop an ongoing educational partnership with Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. A group of 11 paramedic students and instructors just finished a three-week study-abroad program here in the Greater Houston area. The podcast crew thought this would be the perfect chance for our Aussie colleagues to discuss the differences and similarities between E...

In recognition of EMS Week 2019, the MCHD Paramedic Podcast crew decided to directly address one of the most pressing issues in current EMS practice – paramedic and EMT wellness and burnout prevention. Dr. Remle Crowe, Research Scientist and Project Manager with ESO, joins the podcast to lend her tremendous burnout expertise. Burnout is a fluid and dynamic process that varies with time and the ind...

Dr. Patrick and Dr. Dickson pick up where they left off on our Back to the Basics COPD Part 1 episode. We’ll delve further into the differential diagnosis one must consider when treating patients with dyspnea and discuss some of the chameleons that can masquerade as COPD. Many of our COPD patients are far from straight forward with multiple co-morbidities. After listening, you’ll run your next dys...

This episode takes us back to the basics of COPD pathophysiology and treatment. Dr. Dickson and Dr. Patrick start with the differential diagnosis of wheezing and move through the escalating COPD treatment options. We then close with a review of common abnormal breath sounds and set the stage for COPD Part 2 which will be coming soon. References: 1. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download doi...

One of the most difficult situations in prehospital care is the high-risk patient refusal of EMS transport. This topic is far from straight forward for both learners and teachers alike. Dr. Patrick introduces a brand new mnemonic that will, hopefully, alleviate your FEARS the next time you care for a complex patient that decides hospital transport just isn’t in the cards.

This episode is loaded with tactical EMS pearls. Houston Fire Department Assistant Medical Director, Dr. Kevin Schulz, joins the podcast again to lend his TEMS expertise. MCHD’s tactical leader, Patrick Langan, leads the discussion and provides a Montgomery County perspective.

Managing markedly elevated blood pressures has to be one of the most common EMS clinical dilemmas. Dr. Dickson joins Dr. Patrick to help dispel some long-standing and persistent hypertension management myths. The concept of “end organ damage” is also introduced as a framework to properly identify those patients with elevated blood pressures who DO warrant emergent treatment in the prehospital sett...

With the explosion continuing education options, how do we decide who and what to believe? Dr. Tony Seupaul, evidence based medicine expert, joins the podcast crew to discuss tips on how to best manipulate and master medical information in the social media/FOAMed era. We touch on the hierarchy of medical evidence, provide clues on how to best spot flimsy evidence, and tout some of our favorite sit...

The MCHD Podcast Crew just received word that we have a documented measles case here in Montgomery County. We decided to try and get out in front of this story and provide our listeners with some basic information on clinical presentation, transmission and prevention of the measles virus. References: 1. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/index.html 2. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/signs-symptoms.html...

The MCHD Paramedic Podcast wants to help all of our listeners stay up to date. Earlier this year, we discussed TXA (Tranexamic Acid) following our MCHD TXA protocol roll-out. New TXA research just popped up on the radar, join Dr. Patrick for a quick journal club discussion of the Cal-PAT study. References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6225940/pdf/wjem-19-977.pdf

Despite Dr. Patrick's fear, we're delivering the second installment of our Obstetrics series. This is a potentially frightening topic that was actually requested by several MCHD medics. Part one focused on emergencies encountered prior to delivery and part two progresses into difficult deliveries and the postpartum period. References: http://www.emdocs.net/the-complicated-delivery-what-do-you-do/...

Join Dr. Patrick for a “phast” pharmacology update on hydromorphone/dilaudid. We’ll discuss its uses, relative strength, side-effects and the future role of dialudid at MCHD.

Continuing with our recent theme of increased fire related inhalational risks with colder weather, MCHD Paramedic Podcast toxicology guru, Dr. Jerry Snow, joins us again to discuss cyanide poisoning. We’ll discuss ways to recognize cyanide toxicity and when to empirically treat. Combining this episode with our recent carbon monoxide podcast will make you razor sharp when you run on your next house...

Dr. Patrick is joined today remotely by toxicologist and friend of the podcast, Dr. Jerry Snow, to talk about the nuts and bolts of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. All of your questions are answered - from the use of portable CO devices, to the presentation and recognition of CO poisoned patients. We’ll hit on all the cold weather, carbon monoxide high yield information.

Dr. Patrick and Clinical Manager Jordan Anderson run down the 10 most commonly prescribed medications in the US. The medication list can often feel like one more task that’s always partial and incomplete. Jordan and Dr. Patrick try to take a more detective-like approach to demonstrate the utility of anticipating side-effects and potential diagnoses based on medication list clues. References: 1. ht...

Shownotes: Cardiovascular medication poisoning can produce markedly unstable patient presentations. Dr. Patrick and Brad Ward review some of the basics and more recent therapeutic developments in the treatment and management of beta-blocker and calcium channel blocker toxicity. References: 1. St-Onge M, Anseeuw K, Cantrell FL, et al. Experts Consensus Recommendations for the Management of Calcium...

Join Dr. Dickson and Dr. Patrick live from the Texas EMS Conference with a special guest! Today we’ll discuss prehospital ventilator management as a precursor to the lectures Dr. Patrick and Clinical Chief Jordan Anderson will be giving at the conference.

What would you do if you encountered a patient who you were unable to transport or even extract due to extremity entrapment? At MCHD, we asked ourselves this exact question and decided provide an answer in the form of a field amputation protocol. Dr. Justin Hensley joins the MCHD medical directors to discuss the details and pitfalls associated with implementing a plan to amputate a limb in the fie...

Dr. Dan O’Donnell serves as the Medical Director for Indianapolis EMS, as well as Medical Director for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police S.W.A.T. team. Central Indiana has been one of the epicenters for the growing opiate epidemic and Dan joins us to discuss a novel approach that IEMS has taken to combat this devastating public health crisis.

The decision to administer paralytics may well be the most significant decision that we make as emergency providers. We have to understand and know paralytic pharmacology 100% stone cold. Join Dr. Patrick today for a review of our two most commonly encountered paralytic medications - succinylcholine and rocuronium. Homage to the old school and an investigation of newer practice shifts will be give...

Too much of a good thing can always end up being bad. On this episode, Dr. Patrick summarizes the ever increasing evidence that not only does supplemental oxygen not help in patients with reasonable O2 saturations, it likely is harmful in many commonly encountered disease states. Join us for some first-class mythbusting. References: 1. https://dundeechest.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/why-do-copd-patie...

Lowering tidal volumes in effort to reduce lung injury following initiation of mechanical ventilation is far from a new idea, the original ARDS-NET data are nearly 20 years old. Lung protective ventilatory strategies have progressively been shown, from the ICU and now into the ED setting, to decrease ventilator days, ICU/hospital stay and overall mortality. This discussion covers the original ARDS...

Peds EMS wizard, Dr. Greg Faris, joins us again on the podcast to discuss pediatric out-of-hosiptal cardiac arrest. This topic gives us all a bit of nausea and tachycardia. We’ll review some recent literature that will, hopefully, nudge us to change the practice of “scoop and run” in our pediatric cardiac arrests. Pediatric OHCA References Tijssen JA, et al. Time on the scene and interventions are...

Many of the sickest of the sick patients that we see as EMS providers are hypotensive. These folks are often altered and come with spotty histories at best. This episode turns our B2B series to the prehospital management and recognition of shock. How can we better classify then treat our undifferentiated patients in shock? Dr. Patrick and Dr. Dickson build a framework around common sense pathophys...

Falls are one of our most common calls in the EMS world. The potential disease processes and injuries can be wide ranging and difficult to sort. Join Dr. Patrick and Dr. Dickson as they break falls down into two main questions that must be answered on every fall patient. Learn the high risk characteristics and diagnoses to consider and rule out.