If you’ve been on social media lately or read the news, I’m sure you’ve seen some headlines regarding medicine that seem questionable at best. In this episode, John leads the rest of the hosts in a thought-provoking discussion about misinformation versus miracle cures.
Vitamin C in Sepsis
- We wish it were a cure-all, but it doesn’t do much aside from preventing scurvy.
- Tried to make a surge during COVID, but it was never proven to have added benefit.
Tasers and cardiac arrest
- Not that tasers have never caused cardiac arrest, R on T phenomenon, and commotio cordis are real, but it is extremely rare.
- When people have gone into cardiac arrest after being tased, the taser didn’t necessarily cause the arrest. Chances are the person had an underlying cardiac illness.
- If the choice is between someone getting injured and the patient being tased and having a very, very small chance of going into a dysrhythmia, better to have them go into a dysrhythmia in the ED where we can fix it and avoid someone getting assaulted.
CPR Robot (Lucas Device)
- These devices don’t replace good old-fashioned CPR, but it is good at what they do.
- Some of these devices can’t be used on some of our patients, as we are limited by their body habitus.
- Like any machine, these devices can have equipment failure, etc., so we still need to train in old-fashioned CPR and should train in how to operate/troubleshoot these devices.
Thrombolytics for Stroke
- There has been a lot of media around this to help people understand the time sensitivity of getting to the hospital early when you have symptoms, but the pendulum may have swung a little too far because the layperson doesn’t always understand the risks/ benefits, and inclusion/exclusion criteria involved in the decision-making process of whether or not to give it.
- Physicians want to believe that it works better than science tells us. Stroke is so hard for us as physicians because it can be so debilitating, and we just want to fix it and make it better, but sometimes not even thrombolytics can help.
TXA to Stop the Bleed in Trauma
- There is some good evidence to show that the number needed to treat is 1 in 40 to 1 in 60
- It must be given early.
- May be more beneficial in rural EDs or in the prehospital setting, but can’t get in the way of the basic ABCs and quick transport time to a definitive care facility.
- There is also some decent data to show that TXA may have a role in postpartum hemorrhage, epistaxis, and post-T&A bleed.
Take Home Points:
- When digesting medical information, consider the source.
- Social media can be a great way to share information, but be weary of getting your medical information on social media.
- What out for correlations and anecdotal evidence. Correlation is not causation.
Post by Patricia Capone, DO PGY4
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