EKG in Tox

EKG#1

80 year old demented female, unresponsive, BP 55/20, blood glucose 24

1. What’s the rhythm?

2. What’s the differential for bradycardia?

3. Think tox – now narrow your differential. What do the vitals suggest?

4. How do you want to treat this patient?

EKG#2

21 year old male, suicidal, intentional overdose

1. Rate, rhythm, axis, intervals – you can glean a lot of information from these pieces alone

2. What’s the suspected overdose?

3. Treatment?

EKG#3

41 year old female, sent from methadone clinic for nausea. Given Zofran at the clinic. Was acting belligerent at triage and required Haldol. Records show she is currently on azithromycin outpt for recent pneumonia.

You get this EKG right before she goes into cardiac arrest.

1. What the hell happened?

2. How you gonna treat?

EKG#4

92 year old demented man, wife found him unresponsive near an open medicine cabinet

1. This is a classic dysrhythmia secondary to which toxicity?

2. What is a classic, more subtle finding you can see when the patient in normal sinus rhythm?

ANSWERS

EKGotW #4 – Tox Edition

Brown and University of Cincinnati have amazing reference websites for this topic!

Here are some reference tables from their sites with links that you should totes check out!

http://brownemblog.com/blog-1/2018/6/20/the-poor-mans-tox-screen

http://www.tamingthesru.com/blog/diagnostics/ekg-toxicology, Table by Dr. James Li

EKG#1

Beta Blocker Overdose

1.     What’s the rhythm?

a. Junctional bradycardia.

These are QRS complexes without P waves – no P waves means the ventricles are either being triggered from the AV node or more distally (in the actual ventricles).

The complexes are narrow, which means the AV node is likely triggering the impulses, conducting electricity down the bundle of his through the normal conduction pathway.

If the complexes were wide, these might be ventricular escape rhythms – not only do the SA and AV node have their own automaticity, but the actual myocytes themselves may trigger impulses as well.

1.     What’s the differential for bradycardia?

a.     H.I.D.E.

                                               i.     Hypothyroid/Hypothermia

                                             ii.     Ischemia/Increased ICP

                                           iii.     Drugs

                                            iv.     Electrolytes (K, Ca, Mag)

2.     Think tox – now narrow your differential. What do the vitals suggest?

a.     Several toxidromes may cause severe bradycardia. Commonly we talk about calcium channel blockers and beta blockers. (Don’t forget digoxin from David Elkin’s M&M a few weeks ago!)

Classically, hypoglycemia + bradycardia = beta blocker overdose.

Beware of bronchospasm as a clue as well.

3.     How do you want to treat this patient?

a. Glucagon – increases intracellular cAMP and calcium

                      i.   Give with Zofran!

b. Calcium – increase inotropy

c. Epi Drip – for cardiogenic shock

d. High Dose Insulin – 1u/kg/hr, 30-60 min to take effect

e. Lipid Emulsion Therapy – uncertain mechanism

f. Atropine / Pacing can be considered – atropine often ineffective. (Remember, atropine counteracts excessive vagal stimulation, but this is not the etiology of bradycardia in BB OD patients!)
My fave article on this:
https://emcrit.org/pulmcrit/epinephrine-atropine-bradycardia/

EKG#2

TCA Overdose

1.     Rate, rhythm, axis, intervals

a.      Rate = QRS x 6 = 21 x 6 = 126

b.     Rhythm – You can see P waves hiding in I, V5/V6, and maybe small irregularities in the T waves of V3/V4 that hint at presence of P waves. This is sinus.

c.      Axis - Downward deflection in I, upward in aVF = RIGHT AXIS

d.     Intervals

                                               i.     PR < 200msec

                                              ii.     QRS > 120msec

                                            iii.     QTc = QT/Ö(RàR’) = 0.312 / Ö0.48 = 450msec

^^^(I used V2 for this)

Sinus tachycardia with RIGHT AXIS deviation and WIDE QRS complex

2.     What’s the suspected overdose?

a. Hallmarks of TCA Overdose EKG

                 i.  Widened QRS

                ii.  Big-ass R wave in aVR

              iii.  New right axis

iv. Deep slurred S waves, I & aVL

3.     Treatment?

a. Sodium Bicarb pushes

                      i.   Until the QRS narrows

b. Lidocaine for refractory arrythmia

Read about TCA -- http://www.emdocs.net/ecg-pointers-tca-overdose/

Video about TCA -- https://emin5.com/2015/12/22/tca-toxicity/

EKG#3

Long QT

1.     What the hell happened?

a. Haldol, azithromycin, methadone are all QT prolonging agents, which predispose to Torsades de Pointes, or Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia

b.     Using V5…
QTc = QT / (Square root of R->R’) = 0.74 / (SqRt(1.08) = 711msec

2.     How you gonna treat?

a. Defibrillate if in arrest

b. 2g Mag Sulfate slow IV push

c. Isoproterenol +/- pacer if super brady

This case: http://hqmeded-ecg.blogspot.com/2014/06/acquired-long-qt-do-not-trust.html

Torsades overview: https://wikem.org/wiki/Torsades_de_pointes

EKG#4

Digoxin Toxicity

1.     Classic Findings

a. This is Bidirectional V-Tach, classic for digoxin toxicity

b. Like David Elkin talked about a few weeks ago in M&M, lots of different arrhythmias possible with digoxin

c. Beware of atrial arrythmias and dangerous bradycardias

d. Classic EKG finding of scooped, down-sloping, Salvador Dali moustache ST segment

Remember the theoretical phenomenon of stone heart – dig tox may give you hyperK. When you treat with calcium, the theory is that it may cause tetany of the myocardium and precipitate cardiac arrest. Digifab (antidote) will treat hyperK, so consider your options.

Dig Toxicity EKG - https://litfl.com/digoxin-toxicity-ecg-library/

Treatment - https://www.wikem.org/wiki/Digoxin_toxicity

References

https://litfl.com/tricyclic-overdose-sodium-channel-blocker-toxicity/

http://brownemblog.com/blog-1/2018/6/20/the-poor-mans-tox-screen

http://www.tamingthesru.com/blog/diagnostics/ekg-toxicology

http://hqmeded-ecg.blogspot.com/2014/06/acquired-long-qt-do-not-trust.html

Looking at wellness: "Happiness and Resilience in the Life of an Emergency Physician"

Today’s POTD will be focused on wellness.

I will attempt to briefly summarize an amazing piece on “Happiness and Resilience in the Life of an Emergency Physician” from ACEP Wellness Guidebook. But more importantly the piece is written by our amazing and hardworking wellness advocate Dr. Arlene Chung in collaboration with Dr. Rosanna Sikora and Dr. Laura McPeake.

The first paragraph is talking about defining happiness and resilience. My favorite quote is “Engagement and meaning appear to be the strongest contributors to living a happy life” and that “You can strengthen happiness and resilience by practicing”. But at the end of the day it is very individualized and we, ourselves “ must choose what is most meaningful in our lives along the way to be happy”. 

The part that I would like to draw your attention to are the suggested specific strategies by the authors that can help to build resilience in the practice of emergency medicine:

Writing a journal or recording oral narratives. 

Transforming your traumatic experiences into a written or recorded piece will not only help you to cope with difficult emotions but also put the situation in perspective and even learn from it. 

Meditation or mindfulness exercises. 

Mindfulness can be as simple as taking in a deep breath and exhaling very slowly, resulting in a parasympathetic charge of feeling peaceful and settled.

Peer mentoring.

Discussing stressful events with a supportive and empathic colleague is some of the best medicine that we have, and if our emergency medicine atypical humor is involved, all the better. Humor is a great coping strategy. 

Niche development. 

“Research has demonstrated that physicians who have developed a niche within emergency medicine have lower rates of burnout, better career longevity, and more career satisfaction.” This one is specifically very important for the senior class. Thinking about what can improve your clinical practice after graduation (and I am not only talking about fellowship) but rather looking into different areas of interest that can potentially become your niche.

Education. 

I’ve heard teaching is rewarding and improves doctors satisfaction :)

Personal coaching. 

Develop a mission statement and a career plan and the examples that authors suggest: personal organization, time management courses, and learning to say “no” to obligations outside your mission statement.

Focus on empathy. 

Consider books, workshops, and podcasts. Connect with your family, friends, and co-workers outside of the fluorescent lights of the emergency department. 

Take care of your own needs. 

We need to take care of ourselves before we can care for others. Remember to MOVE your body: “A jog a day keeps depression away.” Make time for what you enjoy. Place it on your calendar and treat it like a shift.

Limit stressful downtime.

Balance your high-stress activities with low-stress activities. 

Please read the full article at ACEP emergency physician-focused wellness guide 

https://www.acep.org/globalassets/sites/acep/media/wellness/acepwellnessguide.pdf