The Synapse Critical Care & Emergency Medicine Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Tips to simplify pediatric medication dosing.

Send us Fan Mail Want to see how you stack up in the trauma world? Curious how you would manage a trauma patient as a team lead? Take a stab at this trauma nightmare scenario and put yourself in the Provider/Team Leader shoes. Listen in to the scenario, and think about how you would manage this patient, what tests and imaging you would order, how you would assess and treat, and your reasons why. T...

Send us Fan Mail Let's review the scenario for the pedestrian hit from Episode 34 and see how you did in the Team Leader's shoes! Consider imaging, labs, treatments, assessments, and ultimate goals for this patient. 

Send us Fan Mail Join me as we take a deep dive into the role of nitric oxide in the human body, how it affects us when we enter a shock state, and how agents like Methylene Blue and Hydroxocobalamin can make a significant difference when we have a patient who remains in shock despite fluid resuscitation, multiple vasopressor and inopressor infusions, optimization of pH, and other typical treatmen...

Send us Fan Mail Join me as we review normal right-ventricular physiology, right-ventricular overload pathophysiology, and how our normal treatments for shock can end up killing these patients in the RV death spiral. 

Send us Fan Mail Tips to help you improve your ABG interpretation practice.

Send us Fan Mail Join me as we make an attempt at unpacking the complexities of LVAD patients in a simple case-based approach to simplify care of future LVAD patients and de-mystify this low-frequency patient population. 

Send us Fan Mail A Hail-Mary play in cardiac arrests when all fails? Medication toxidromes unresponsive to traditional antidotes? We will explore the idea behind fatty lipid emulsion therapy and what it could do for certain populations of our patients.

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered how to better interpret a chest x-ray before, or how to maximize your chances at not missing a key finding? Is this your first time looking at a chest x-ray and you feel lost, unsure what you are looking at? Join me as I take you on a journey through a standardized approach to interpretation of chest x-rays for the non-Provider provider (RN's, Medics, R...

Send us Fan Mail A quick dive into various possible medication-induced toxidromes and other potential chemical/exogenous toxidromes you may encounter in your care.

Send us Fan Mail Neonatal Resuscitation Principles? STABLE? PALS? PEARS? PEPP? What do I NEED to know about pediatric and neonatal resuscitation?

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we will explore the true purpose of nitroglycerin, high vs low-dose therapy and its effects, when SL vs infusion should be used, and dispel some misconceptions surrounding the medication.

Send us Fan Mail Taking care of sick children is scary enough. Taking care of sick children with severe sepsis and septic shock can turn the stomachs of most providers. In this episode, we will discuss basic assessment and treatment considerations for septic children, and what ways we can optimize conditions for them. We will also discuss how commonly children are throwing red flags our way that w...

Send us Fan Mail Let's talk about Propofol! Grab a glass of "milk of amnesia" and we will discuss the when, how, and why behind this medication. Tips for transport in and out of the hospital, side effects of short-term vs long-term usage, the need for loading dose, and more. 

Send us Fan Mail Join me for a continuation of the DKA series, this time covering the pediatric-specific considerations. While DKA shares many similarities between pediatrics and adults, the  treatments and aggressiveness of treatments change a bit. We will cover not only the DKA, treatment considerations for the age group, and the importance of the benefit of pediatric telehealth capabilities. 

Send us Fan Mail Cervical spinal injuries are often missed in the prehospital setting, and even with advanced imaging and assessments, can still be missed in the ED. We examine the various risk factors, the anatomical zones of the cervical spine, treatment considerations, evidence-based immobilization practices, and more. 

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever truly thought about how to set up your fluids and pressors on drip sets and pumps, and why sometimes the patients go down-hill shortly after setting up or changing over your drip sets? In this short episode, we will discuss tips for initiation of pressors, flushing extension sets and considerations to prevent decompensation of your patients. 

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever had a patient who failed all attempts at oxygenation? Were you aware that there are actually four different types of hypoxia, and that they don't all respond to simply increasing oxygenation? Let's explore 5 steps to take to improve oxygenation in your patients, whether breathing on their own or mechanically ventilated. 

Send us Fan Mail Diabetic Ketoacidosis can be a very challenging condition to treat, and if treated incorrectly, can add to the mortality rates of these patients. Join us and our special guest, Robin Abeles (PA-C), as we explore DKA, review the true purpose of Insulin, discuss the role of Bicarb (if any!), mechanical ventilation strategies, and more. This episode will focus primarily on the adult...

Send us Fan Mail Let's explore the uses and limitations of Precedex in and out of hospital.

Send us Fan Mail We often think of iGels and LMA's, or supraglottic airways, as a "rescue airway," but what if we changed our thinking with some of our difficult airways and used them as our primary option?  Let's explore this idea, what needs to be done, and how to best use these especially in the "DSA/Delayed Sequence Airway" mentality. 

Send us Fan Mail Taking care of sick infants is stressful enough. Attempting to obtain IV access in a sick infant adds more stress that can be mitigated with tips and tricks presented in this podcast episode. 

Send us Fan Mail Similarly to IV placement in the sick neonate, general assessments on these populations can be challenging and nerve-wracking for all involved and those watching from the sidelines. Join me as we navigate the assessments and findings for this age group and simplify this so we can perform more efficiently under pressure. 

Send us Fan Mail Let's explore a different way to administer Adenosine effectively, the counter-points for this newer method, and ways to safely administer Adenosine in our patients. 

Send us Fan Mail Explore a case study with me that would send most of us packing in the other direction out of anxiety. Dust off the cobwebs of neonatal care from your mind, and learn about the basics of the BMAG resuscitation momentum principle to keep you on track when we need to be on the same page and organized with sick infants and children.  Disclaimer, I do NOT take credit for the BMAG prin...