Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) Working in the main ER, you notice a patient getting triaged that has shortness of breath, fever, chills and fatigue. They tested negative for COVID/Flu and you are suspecting pneumonia. Standard of practice is getting a chest x-ray to confirm the diagnosis, but you have seen FAST exams being done for fluid accumulation in the chest and abdomen, and wonder if POC ultrasound can be used to look for consolidations like pneumonia in an acute situation. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In …
Category: Pediatrics – PICO #1
Emergency Medicine – PICO #2
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) As you come into the emergency room for your shift, the other PA gives you the sign off on a patient that came in with diabetic ketoacidosis. You notice the bag of intravenous insulin that is helping offset the DKA, and you wonder if insulin given subcutaneously would also help the patient without possibly having them become hypoglycemic. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In patients with diabetic ketoacidosis, how does subcutaneous insulin versus intravenous insulin affect the time to DKA resolution and …
Emergency Medicine – PICO #1
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) While viewing a patient come into the emergency department for a cardiac arrest, you investigate different modalities that can used to extend neurological outcomes and survival rates of affected patients before they hit the ambulance doors of the ED. One of the longer standing attending physicians talks about cooling techniques that can possibly be utilized. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, does prehospital therapeutic hypothermia compared to standard care without prehospital hypothermia improve neurological outcomes and survival …
Mini-CAT #1
Clinical Question: A 25-year-old woman presents to your OB/GYN clinic and she mentions that she feels upset that her PCOS is making her gain weight. She has tried lifestyle modifications, but it has not been working as well as she had hoped. She has seen commercials and has heard a lot of people talking about Ozempic and Metformin for weight loss alternatives. She asks you if either of those medications can be helpful in her goal of losing more weight. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), …
Surgery – PICO #2
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) While watching an anesthesiologist induce a patient to become intubated for their laparoscopic appendectomy, the anesthesiologist mentions she is using propofol. You remember the last anesthesiologist used etomidate. You know that both anesthetics have different indications for them, and wonder if both can be used together to optimize both drugs synergistically during intubation. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) Does the combination of propofol and etomidate incite more hemodynamic stability for patients being induced for surgery versus propofol or etomidate alone? Question Type: …
Surgery – PICO #1
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) On the surgery floor you go to talk to a patient about a future appendectomy. The patient has read about robotic-assisted appendectomies. He wonders about if they are a better match for him over doing a laparoscopic appendectomy. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In surgical patients undergoing an appendectomy, do robotic-assisted approaches to an appendectomy reduce operative time and time to discharge versus doing a laparoscopic appendectomy? Question Type: What kind of question is this? (boxes now checkable in Word) ☐Prevalence …
Pediatrics – PICO #3
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) In the pediatrics ER, you notice a symptomatic child with a bulging tympanic membrane and prescribe amoxicillin. The father of the child you are treating mentions that the last time his son had an ear infection and was treated with amoxicillin, he had diarrhea for days. The boy’s father read online that probiotics might shorten the duration of the diarrhea or can possibly eliminate it. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In pediatric patients, do probiotics, given with antibiotics, shorten the course and …
Pediatrics – PICO #2
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) 30-month-old F, accompanied by her mother, comes in to the pediatrics emergency room c/o a cough that has not gone away x 2 days. You hear a bark-like cough, but the child does not seem to be very symptomatic. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In children with mildly symptomatic croup is oral dexamethasone still the go-to steroid to administer verses oral prednisolone in reducing the duration of a child’s cough and illness trajectory? Question Type: What kind of question is this? (boxes …
Pediatrics – PICO #1
Brief description of patient problem/setting (summarize the case very briefly) 8 y/o F, accompanied by father, comes in to the pediatrics emergency room c/o red itchy eyes with discharge x 2 days. Pt’s father reports daughters’ eyes were crusting every morning and needed to be cleaned out. This is their second time in the pediatric ER within the last two days. Search Question: Clearly state the question (including outcomes or criteria to be tracked) In pediatric patients with viral conjunctivitis, are ophthalmic antibiotics more effective than symptomatic treatment, in reducing duration of illness and clinical course? Question Type: What kind …