EMCrit RACC
EMCrit 293 - March 03, 2021 - By Scott Weingart
...”What is a Heuristic?
A short cut to extended, analytical thinking that when functional provides a solution that may not be optimal but will be sufficient. When based on cognitive biases, heuristics may be dysfunctional. Wikipedia has a fairly good discussion of heuristics...
Functional Heuristics in Resuscitation
- Flank Pain in Elderly is AAA until the Ultrasound
- Severe Bradycardia/Heart Block = Hyperkalemia until you see the K
- Slovis' Hypokalemia = Hypomagnesemia (Hypok=HypoMAG)
- Unexplained Hypotension gets antibiotics
- Hypotension and Abdominal Pain in Child-Bearing Age Female is Ectopic
- Chest Pain Plus
- Tamponade is dissection until it is not
- Old stay, young go
- Err towards Young D/C and Old Stay and then check
- Think LP/do LP
- The diagnoses of costochondritis and gastroenteritis do not exist
- What is going to kill this patient? (Pre-Mortem)Functional Heuristics in Resus