Are there any historical or physical examination findings that can help emergency physicians make the diagnosis of UTI? Read the article and take the Quiz for 1 CME credit hour.

There was a time when determining how to sedate a child for a CT of the head was a major factor to consider in determining the risk-benefit ratio for obtaining the study. With the speed of today’s new multi-slice CT machines this decision-making process has all but been eliminated. However, as in all other areas of medicine, nothing is ever absolute, and there still are scenarios that will require the sedation of a child for a diagnostic study.

Children often present to the emergency department with acute pain and the issue of rapid and effective pain control is a top priority for providers. This journal club evaluates the use of nebulized fentanyl as an effective medication that can be administered painlessly prior to the initiation of IVs.

If you want to read a medical fairly tale, pick up an older textbook and read the chapter on lumbar punctures. Although you won’t read about unicorns or dragons, some of the recommendations are no less mythical. Let’s take a shot at disproving these myths with a silver bullet of truth.

As the search for the ideal sedative agent continues, ketamine continues to be a safe and effective choice.  This journal club will review the literature on NPO time, anti-emetics, atropine, and head injury in relation to ketamine use.

As I wrap up my emergency medicine residency and enter the “real world” after so many years of training, I look back and see how my clinical practices have changed considerably. I no longer place a certain order just because that is “what you do,” but because the result is significant in my medical decision-making.