Podcast 833: NS vs LR

Contributor; Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: A 2026 survey asked Canadian emergency medicine (EM) physicians about their eating and drinking habits while on shift. Among 527 respondents, 35% reported that they never or hardly ever ate during shifts, and 37% said the same abo ...  Show more

Contributor; Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: Thoracotomy Thoracotomy is used in traumatic cardiac arrest to replace conventional CPR with direct access to the chest. Goals include identifying and controlling reversible causes of bleeding, prioritizing blood flow to the heart ...  Show more

The PLUS Trial compared plasma-lyte to 0.9% NaCl (aka normal saline) in patients who were critically ill and needed IV fluids. In this episode, we review the PLUS trial that compared Plasma-lyte to Saline (0.9% NaCl) in critically ill patients. We discuss the rationale behind the ...  Show more

In this BIG episode, Dr Matt & Dr Mike discuss electrolytes and ions! They explain what important roles substances like sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl-), Calcium (Ca2+), and Magnesium (Mg2+) play in the body!What happens when we have too much or too little??<hr>

Pediatric intensivist Dr. Will Cagle joins the show to discuss the AAP Maintenance IV fluid guidelines and considerations when choosing IV fluids for pediatric inpatients. What do you need to know from the 2018 AAP maintenance IV fluid guideline? How common is hyponatremia in hos ...  Show more

Saline or balanced crystalloids? The question of which resuscitation fluid to use in clinical practice seems to have been settled by recent research findings — or at least settled in favor of balanced crystalloids. But wait, our guests see slight differences that may affect yo ...