The Synapse Critical Care & Emergency Medicine Podcast
The Synapse is a Critical Care and Emergency Medicine podcast breaking down topics and case studies into simple easy-to-digest segments to help build paramedic, nurse, and other pre-hospital and hospital clinicians into more robust providers. This podcast is open to any and all Emergency Medicine and Critical Care healthcare providers both in and out-of-hospital. Every effort is made to put out as many various topics to cater to everyone's interests and levels. Leave your technician hat outside, put on your clinician hat, and join us!
**Disclosures:
1) This is a non-monetary podcast, created and edited for free for your enjoyment and learning purposes.
2) The opinions and information presented in these podcast episodes is based off of up-to-date research, the latest evidence-based-guidelines, and/or anecdotal experience/opinions of the author.
3) Under no circumstances does this podcast or the information presented within each episode serve as authorization to work outside your guidelines, protocols, or workplace rules otherwise. When in doubt, contact Medical Control for guidance.
Episodes
199 episodes
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 25 - Phone a Friend: Aslanger's Pattern is NOT a STEMI Mimic!
Traditional STEMI criteria continue to fail us with sensitivity vs specificity. There are certain conditions and presentations on ECG that do not meet the traditional criteria, but absolutely should be activated for cardiac cath under the OMI m...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 25
•
18:31
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 24 - Cardiogenic and Vasodilatory Shock
Cardiogenic and vasodilatory shock can be incredibly difficult conditions to recognize and treat for some providers. There are nuances that can complicate things, and certain medications and procedures may be more beneficial than others during ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 24
•
11:10
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 23 - POTS Review
Many patients and healthcare providers alike do not fully understand Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. What is it, how many forms are there, and how do we diagnose and treat it? Is it really that simple? This is a short but in-depth re...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 23
•
11:09
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 22 - EtCO2...Oh What are We to do With You?
EtCO2...is it over-used? Is it just a thing of pestering QA/CQI nightmare? Or is there actually use for it? When does it work and when does it just not? Is the information you are obtaining actually useful to you for your specific patient? Or a...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 22
•
28:30
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 21 - The RBC Indices and the Leukogram
Ok, I'll be the first to admit it...often I overlook the RDW-SD, MCV, MCH, and the MCHC. Why do we need these anyways, I just need the WBC, RBC, H&H, and platelet count! However, these components, known as the RBC Indices, gives us a lot of...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 21
•
13:34
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 20 - Carotid Views in Cardiac Arrest?
Subxiphoid view for POCUS in cardiac arrest is more or less the standard go-to during compressions. However, what if there was another site that could be used as a surrogate, and is actually even easier to obtain? One that showed evidence of pe...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 20
•
15:14
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 19 - A Not-So-Scary ECG Finding?
Tired of the "doom-and-gloom" ECG reviews of late? Don't worry, there's more where they came from! But until then, join me for a look at an ECG finding that maybe isn't quite as scary, but still a good one to know about!
•
Season 3
•
Episode 19
•
17:47
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 18 - 5 Stroke Syndromes You Must Know
How well do you know your way around the Circle of Willis? Can you predict where the occlusion is in a stroke patient based on their presentation of signs or symptoms? This episode is all about linking those together to help you better understa...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 18
•
17:37
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 17 - Cholesterol...Is it Good, Bad, or Do We Even Care?
How many of our patients are told they have hypercholesterolemia? How many are on statins? How many seem to do very poorly on statins, and seem to be told to chase lower and lower cholesterol levels? What does this actually do to the body? What...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 17
•
12:10
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 16 - 3 Lesser-Known ECG Findings to Watch For
We often focus heavily on STEMI vs NSTEMI, OMI vs NOMI...what about Precordial Swirl? No, it's not an ice cream flavor! What about Northern OMI? Has nothing to do with geopolitics! Bifasicular block, new onset? Excuse me? Confused? Tune in to f...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 16
•
16:54
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 15 - Driving Pressure
No, we aren't going for a drive. Instead, we will look at what driving pressure actually is, and why it is such an important part of mechanical ventilation in general. What tends to trip people up is the strict adherence to one specific equatio...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 15
•
12:27
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 14 - Fluids...Lots and Lots of Fluids (A Brief Review)
We have all seen massive textbooks devoted simply to IV fluids. Colloids and crystalloids...balanced vs not...dextrose variations...so many to choose from. How do we choose? What is right for my patient? This episode is an attempt to break down...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 14
•
14:56
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 13 - 4 Gaps to Know About
We are overloaded with tools, scales, and other job aids in healthcare. It can be very difficult to know which ones are helpful or not, which ones are too hard to remember or to navigate, etc. In this episode, I review 4 gaps and their equation...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 13
•
13:21
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 12 - An AV Block That Doesn't Respond to Pacing?
Have you ever had an AV Block that didn't respond to transcutaneous pacing? Is that even a real thing? This episode details this phenomenon, the Phase 4 AV Block, and discusses what it is, how it happens, and why our traditional therapies don't...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 12
•
16:50
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 11 - HACOR Score for Judgement of NiPPV Failure
If you have ever put a patient on NiPPV and wondered "Ok, how do I know how long to keep them on, and when do I find out if the patient fails NiPPV and needs to be intubated?," then this episode is for you. HACOR score is useful for EMS and hos...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 11
•
12:00
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 10 - Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction
What is hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction? Is it entirely a bad thing, or can it actually be protective? How do we alter it, and when is altering or blunting it actually a bad thing vs a good thing? Tune in to find out!
•
Season 3
•
Episode 10
•
19:11
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 9 - HFpEF vs HFrEF
LVSD vs LVDD...HFpEF vs HFrEF...what is all of this gibberish? This episode looks at the differences between left ventricular systolic vs diastolic dysfunction...in other terms, Heart Failure with Preserved (or Reduced) Ejection Fraction. We wi...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 9
•
13:04
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 8 - Emerging Sepsis Filtration Therapies
Is sepsis really just about fluids and antibiotics? What if there was something else we could do to actually remove part of the problem and get patients on the road to recovery quicker? Something that could filter out the endothelial damage byp...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 8
•
10:56
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 7 - The Gregg Phenomenon and the Garden Hose Principle
The Gregg Phenomenon? The Garden Hose Principle? What are these? How do they apply to our patients? What specific patients do these apply to? This is a great episode to tune into and learn something that impacts patients almost daily.
•
Season 3
•
Episode 7
•
14:14
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 6 - Influenza and NSTEMI, Cardiomyopathy, and More
Can Influenza cause NSTEMI? Cardiomyopathy? Elevated troponins in general? Especially with this nasty flu/respiratory season, expect to see this more and more. What is the mechanism behind this relationship? Are these true NSTEMI's and cardiomy...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 6
•
14:42
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 5 - Acid-Base Review and the SID
It's been a while since we looked at Acid-Base, and I figured now is as good a time as any to really dive into full acid-base interpretation. Brush off your skills, sit back and enjoy a little review if this is something you are very comfortabl...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 5
•
23:47
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 4 - PreHospital Blood Programs Don't Need RCT's...Prove Me Wrong
I've said this before...there are NO randomized control trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of parachutes...we put our faith in them when we step out of an airplane. With the evidence that already exists out there, both from military and ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 4
•
19:32
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 3 - Are My People Ok?
Our healthcare system is broken. Nurses and paramedics are leaving at rates never seen before. Is it really just the pay? The hours? Or is there something a bit more obvious, but often shunned or denied, that is part of the driving cause? Are t...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 3
•
36:10
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 2 - ECCO2R in ARDS
By now most of you have probably heard of ECMO, and if you tuned into my Intro to ECMO podcast, you should have a pretty solid understanding of what it is and how it helps oxygenate our patients when traditional methods fail. Well, what about s...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 2
•
17:55
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 1 - New Changes and Research for the New Year
Welcome back to the Synapse! We are starting Season 3 off with a look at some of the bigger items, procedures, and changes coming down the line in the medical fields that will impact emergency, interfacility transport, critical care transport, ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 1
•
14:01