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
260 episodes
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 85 - New DKA Criteria
DKA is a wild animal. Taming it in our sick patients can be incredibly challenging. The newest criteria are out for diagnosis of DKA, and there have been a few bigger changes. Tune in to keep up!
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 84 - Pediatric Fluid and Electrolyte Rates
We are all most likely pretty adept at initial fluid resuscitation and repletion rates for pediatrics. What happens after the patient is more stable-ish? In that time period where we must now maintain the patient? How do we calculate appropriat...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 86 - Phenylephrine Review
This episode is a review on the pharmacology behind Phenylephrine, a very potent alpha vasopressor, its uses, cautions, and more!
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 83 - Poor Lab Interpretation Traps
If you interpret lab values, you have most assuredly fallen into the same trap I have in the past of taking something at face value and not reasoning against trends or in conjunction with other lab values. In medicine this can cause dangerous c...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 82 - S3 and S4 Simplification
If you are like me, you probably have trouble remembering the difference between heart murmur grades, whether S4 comes before S1, S3 after S2, and why it even matters. This episode breaks this down as simple as I think it can possibly be broken...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 81 - Isolated Diastolic Hypotension
Who are you more concerned about, the patient with a blood pressure of 96/70 or the patient with a blood pressure of 200/35? Besides the fact that this episode is titled Isolated Diastolic Hypotension, can you figure out why option B is more co...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 80 - qPS4 and the TAMSI in Septic Children
SIRS and especially qSOFA just don't stack up. Not in adults, and definitely not in pediatrics. This has begged the question for a while of is there a better sepsis screening tool out there for children given how well they compensate and hide i...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 79 - ALM Therapy, Re-Visited
One of the very first episodes I covered was on a concept called ALM Therapy. For those not familiar, this is a mix of Adenosine, Lidocaine, and Magnesium infusion therapy in trauma patients. Why? Great question. Tune into this episode as I out...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 78 - AKI and CKD...Do You Really Understand These?
Take a second and really think...how solid is your understanding of acute kidney injury vs chronic kidney disease? Are these conditions silos, or is there overlap? How do lab values play into diagnostics beyond face value? What does it really m...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 77 - Oxygen Nanoparticles in Hypoxia
Oxygen nanoparticles? What the heck am I talking about now? Hypoxia can be an incredibly complex cascade in the body, and is not just a one-size-fits-all issue or treatment. We have to identify the type of hypoxia, the process(es) involved, whe...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 76 - 2026 Surviving Sepsis Guidelines Updates
2026 is the Year of Sepsis! There are big changes and pushes for identification and treatment of sepsis both in the hospital and pre-hospital. Tune into this episode for an overview of the changes to the guidelines with evidence-based recommend...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 75 - 4 Must-Know Pediatric ECG Findings
I see quite often providers not obtaining ECG's on pediatric patients. There seems to be this idea especially in EMS that cardiac issues are reserved for anyone over the age of puberty. How about we correct that thinking today and talk about 4 ...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 74 - Ketorolac Review
The magic of Ketorolac...the power of narcotics packed neatly into an NSAID's body. But is it a wonder-drug, or are there issues to be aware of? When should it be used, and what do we need to look for? These questions and more are answered here...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 73 - Euvolemic Cardiogenic Shock
What is euvolemic, or normal volume, cardiogenic shock, and how does this differ from what we typically expect??
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 72 - DKA, HHS, and SIADH Review
It is incredibly important to understand the differences in pathophysiology and presentation physically and lab-wise when it comes to differentiating DKA vs HHS (previously known as HHNK). We will discuss both of these in detail, as well as the...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 71 - All Things Cardiac Output
This episode dives into the concept of Cardiac Output. What is it, how do we calculate it, and how do we use it? What parameters does this use to be calculated, and how can we apply cardiac output to our patients to better manage them? This epi...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 70 - Aortic Stenosis vs Aortic Regurgitation
Why do patients respond so poorly to aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation? What is happening in the heart and systemically when these are occurring? Why is an IABP contraindicated for one of these conditions? How can I use a better understa...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 69 - The Cardiorenal Syndrome Feedback Loop
The head bones are indeed connected to the foot bones, albeit with a bunch of things in between. So too is the heart connected to the kidneys, and what affects one will assuredly affect the other. This episode looks at the relationship in detai...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 68 - Lactate Again? Type A and B
We seem to discuss lactate a bit on these episodes, and for good reason. This episode takes it a step further and breaks down Type A vs Type B hyperlactatemia, and those patients who may also have both at the same time. How does this change thi...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 67 - Thyroid Disease and Tests
Do lab values constantly leave you confused? You are not alone. Many healthcare providers can have difficulty not just with memorizing lab values as a whole, but knowing how to interpret them in context with clinical picture. This episode looks...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 66 - Pressure-Transducing the IO Access Site in Cardiac Arrest
Wait a minute...what?? Why would you transduce an IO drill site for vascular access, and think that you would get a pressure reading off of it? Is it even similar to an arterial access site? How would this work, and why does it work? Join me on...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 65 - Cytokine Storm and Sepsis Biomarkers
This episode is a review of the sepsis biomarkers and lab values, as well as an in-depth discussion into the cytokine storm that drives sepsis, specifically what is happening at the cellular and tissue levels that makes this such a significant ...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 64 - How the CAST Trial Changed Everything
There are some things that are taken for granted in medicine, and some that make sense. There are some things that "just made sense" and were followed but then evidence later on shows it was not appropriate. The CAST Trial is one of those insta...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 63 - Coronary Perfusion Pressure Concepts
This episode is all about the concept of coronary perfusion pressure. It is essential that we understand these concepts so that we can predict, react, and treat our patients better than just a guess. This episode will get your comfort levels up...
The Synapse Season 3 Episode 62 - Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
Hemo lympho what? Why are we talking about something you have never heard of before? Is this like Dr. House, with random oddball medical diagnosis'? What if I said a good chunk of the patients we believe to be septic actually are suffering from...