Strategizing to successfully identify and treat infectious diseases
A 35 year old patient with a fever and weakness visits a small town emergency department. The patient is previously healthy and has a mildly low blood pressure but otherwise does not look critically ill. The physician treats him with fluids and acetaminophen and discharges him. He returns 6 hours later, critically ill, and dies […]
Optimizing survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Over the past five years, the survival rates of out of hospital cardiac arrest patients has risen from 6.6% to 13% thanks to focused training and monitoring of paramedic resuscitation practices across the province. Dr. Jim Christenson is leading the BC Site of the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (funded by CIHR, NIH and Heart and Stroke […]
Preventing adverse effects of prescription medications
A 70 year old woman comes into the emergency department feeling weak, tired and dizzy–unable to cope at home alone. She is an adult onset diabetic, has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and on 6 medications. Her blood tests reveal that her kidney function is a little worse than before and her liver functions are […]
Safe and efficient early discharge of low-risk patients with chest pain
Early research has shown that 5% of patients with heart attack or unstable angina were being discharged from teaching hospitals with an inaccurate diagnosis, and no follow-up. In response, Drs. Scheuermeyer, Grafstein and Christenson – with the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine – have developed a new system to better identify whether a patient with […]