Synthetic Cathinones (“Bath Salts”) and Gerbal Marijuana Alternatives – Resident Journal Review

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Authors: Susan Cheng, MD MPH; Jonathan Yeo, MD; Eli Brown, MD; Allison Regan, MD
Edited by: Michael C. Bond, MD FAAEM and Christopher Doty, MD FAAEM
Originally Published: Common Sense April/May 2012

This resident Journal review focuses on two popular designer drugs that have made their way into the media as well as our emergency departments: synthetic cathinones, also known as “bath salts,” and herbal marijuana alternatives. Due to the relative novelty of these drugs, not much literature or research exists to help ED physicians manage patients who come in with these acute intoxications. The pharmacology, clinical symptoms and management options, as well as a few case reports, will be discussed in this review.

With You All the Way

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Author: Meaghan Mercer, MD
2014-2015 RSA President
Originally Published: Common Sense May/June 2014

Emergency medicine is a specialty known for high burnout. Professional burnout is described and measured in many different ways, but it encompasses a loss of enthusiasm for work, emotional exhaustion, disparagement, depersonalization, a loss of empathy, and feeling a lack personal accomplishment. A study done in the 1990s showed that, of surveyed emergency physicians, 77-80% of physicians said that EM had met or exceeded their career expectations but 31-33% still noted that burnout was a significant problem in their work life. We have a dichotomous emotional response to our work: a love of what we do and a component of exhaustion from it. We can have large swings of daily highs and lows, or a day full of benign abdominal pains. We often present ourselves as emotionally open and able to look at all things objectively, but with burnout we can become emotionally blunted. How do we prevent this? There have been many proposals on how to prevent burnout, but fundamentally the answer is in rediscovering what drew us to EM initially and letting that continue to motivate us day to day.

Thiamine Repletion in Alcohol Abuse

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Author: Alexandria Gregory, MS-3
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
AAEM/RSA Social Media Committee

Thiamine deficiency is commonly seen in patients with a history of chronic alcohol use and can have significant consequences if untreated. Therefore, repletion of thiamine in these patients is crucial, and appropriate administration should begin in the emergency department (ED).

AAEM/RSA FIX Scholarship Winners - Women in EM: Essay Two

Kimberly M. Brown, MD

Author: Kimberly M. Brown, MD
University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis)

RSA is proud to share the following essay from one of the 2017 FemInEM Idea Exchange (FIX) Scholarship winners, Kimberly Brown, MD. Congratulations, Dr. Brown! 

Author Bio: Kimberly M. Brown, MD is a senior emergency medicine resident at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, then left the Midwest to complete her BA in Biology from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Loving the warm weather, she moved to Gainesville, FL and completed a Master in Public Health from the University of Florida. She completed her medical education at Ross University School of Medicine. After completing residency, she will start a fellowship in neurocritical care at the University of Tennessee.

“YOU’RE Doctor Brown?” my elderly patient incredulously asks. I turn my badge around to squint at it and then look at my embroidered scrubs to double check. “That’s what it says on here!” My patient and her family members laugh. My patient touches my hand and tells me, “I am so proud of you.” Being black and female, I'm no stranger to a surprised reaction to my initial introduction. However, this time was different.

Combat and Cruise Ships: Reviving the Practice of Fresh Whole Blood Transfusion in Remote Environments

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Author: Scott Bland, MSIV
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Whole blood was the only available transfusion product prior to the development of Cohn’s plasma fractionation process in 1947.[1] However, with advances in laboratory technology and more targeted therapies in hospital settings, the medical community has greatly increased the use of individual blood components, including red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. These components allow for more specific treatment effects, fewer unintended effects, potentially longer shelf life, and more uses per donation than whole blood.[2] In optimal situations, the contemporary choice of processed and screened donations is clearly the safest, but there are uses for fresh whole blood that merit consideration.