Emergency Medicine Cases

Epistaxis is usually straightforward—until it isn’t. How can you distinguish an anterior bleed from a dangerous posterior bleed? What’s the best sequence for compression, vasoconstrictors, TXA, cautery and packing? When should you reach for an anterior balloon tampon or posterior dual balloon? And how do you manage the airway when torrential bleeding fills the oropharynx? In this Epistaxis Management Deep Dive, Anton is joined by emergency physician Dr. Leeor Sommer and otolaryngologist Dr. Doron Sommer for a practical step-wise approach to everything from the routine nosebleed to life-threatening hemorrhage... If you find EM Cases useful in your practice, please consider making a donation to help us keep producing free, open-access emergency medicine education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/

In this month’s EM Quick Hits Podcast, Mike Weinstock dissects a pediatric headache medical malpractice case, Zoe Polsky reviews the use of phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal, and Kylie Booth and Nour Khatib discuss how a Peer-to-Peer program can support emergency clinicians. Plus, Matthew McArther clarifies when to treat asymptomatic bacteriuria in older adults, Shawn Segeren shares practical approaches to mechanical ventilation in the emergency department, and Sara Gray and Katie Lin return for Part 3 of “Coaching the EM Mind,” with strategies for building strong teams and support networks... Please consider a donation to EM Cases here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/

When to image, when to wait, and what to do when the ideal test isn’t available are often far more nuanced than they appear. In this EM Cases episode, Dr. Amit Shah joins Anton to tackle some of the toughest everyday imaging decisions: How much should cumulative radiation exposure influence our decision to order another CT? In suspected appendicitis, when is it safe to wait for ultrasound rather than obtain CT overnight? Can the emerging traumatic brain injury biomarkers GFAP and UCH-L1 help avoid CT, particularly in rural and remote settings? And in suspected cauda equina syndrome, how can PVR and CT lumbar spine be combined to risk-stratify patients when MRI isn’t immediately available—and when should a reassuring PVR or CT not reassure us? Plus, practical shared decision-making strategies, the role of the “tincture of time,” and much more... Please consider a donation to EM Cases to support ongoing high-quality Free Open Access Medical Education: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/

There are few things more frustrating for an Emergency Physician than caring for patient after patient who lands in the ED not because it’s necessarily the best place for their care, but because every other door in the health care system was closed, confusing or impossible to find. Emergency Medicine and Primary Care often operate in different worlds—one built around rapid diagnosis and uncertainty, the other around continuity and prevention—but our patients move constantly between the two. In this special EM Cases podcast, EM–Primary Care Health Systems Strategies, we step outside the usual ED lens with Dr. Tara Kiran (host of the Primary Focus podcast) and Dr. Danielle Martin to ask how we can deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time. We challenge assumptions about what drives ED use and explore team-based primary care, after-hours cooperatives, call-first triage, virtual care, information sharing and warm handoffs. Drawing on models from Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and elsewhere, we finish with practical strategies to reduce fragmentation, improve continuity and make the system work better for patients and providers. Please consider a donation to EM Cases to support our mission of providing high quality free open access medical education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/. Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in October 2025, prior to Dr. Danielle Martin becoming a candidate for government office. The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Martin in this discussion were her own at the time of recording and do not represent or reflect the views, policies, or positions of the Government of Canada.

In this month’s EM Quick Hits Podcast, Amna Karabegovic joins us for an EMC² case of pediatric altered LOA and neurocritical care, Anand Swaminathan simplifies the high-risk management of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure, and Brit Long reviews how to recognize and treat Cytokine Release Syndrome. Plus, Andrew Tagg on whether uncomplicated pediatric distal radius fractures need reduction, Jesse McLaren on a systematic approach to ECG interpretation in the bradycardic patient, and Sara Gray and Katie Lin return for Part 2 of “Coaching the EM Mind,” with practical strategies for managing stress and optimizing psychological safety on shift… Please consider a donation to ensure EM Cases continues to be high quality Free Open Access Medical Education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/