October 19, 2026 – October 25, 2026
Weekly Roundup
14 resources from 7 sources were added to the FOAM Cortex library this week and are now indexed. Explore a selection below, with links to the original educators.
8 highlights · 5 featured sources
Alpha-Gal – Red Meat and Transfusion Reactions Too?
This retrospective study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that type O recipients receiving plasma or platelets from type B or AB donors in high alpha-gal-prevalence regions had a significantly higher rate of allergic transfusion reactions, suggesting a previously unrecognized association between alpha-gal sensitization and transfusion reactions.
ECG Pointers: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!
This ECG Pointers case teaches recognition of Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm (AIVR), a wide-complex, P-wave-absent rhythm at 60–100 bpm seen after thrombolytic reperfusion in MI. The article emphasizes that AIVR is benign and self-limiting, and that treating it with anti-arrhythmics risks hemodynamic collapse; rates above 110 bpm should raise concern for true ventricular tachycardia instead.
Toxicology: Calcium Channel Blockers
This PEM Currents episode covers pediatric calcium channel blocker (CCB) toxicity, emphasizing that a single non-dihydropyridine tablet (verapamil, diltiazem) can be lethal to a toddler. The episode highlights high-dose insulin euglycemic therapy as the cornerstone for refractory cardiogenic shock, with fluids and calcium as temporizing measures and VA-ECMO reserved for refractory cases.
ARISE FLUIDS – Fluids, pressors, neither, both?
The ARISE FLUIDS RCT (N Engl J Med, 2026) randomized 1,000 adult septic-shock patients—already screened for clinical equipoise—to early vasopressors with restricted fluids versus greater fluid volumes with delayed vasopressors, finding no difference in days alive and out of hospital at 90 days. Pulmonary edema was more frequent in the fluids group, though this outcome was subjective in an unblinded trial.
Ep 300 – Decisions Under Pressure: Knowing When to Act in Emergency Care
This St Emlyn's episode, drawing on Tactical Trauma 2024 talks, examines decision-making under pressure across prehospital and emergency contexts—including the 40/70 information heuristic, the NHS Ten Second Triage tool (whose 2025 evaluation tested usability in simulated exercises, not real-incident survival), and prehospital eCPR, where randomised trial results remain heterogeneous and patient selection uncertain. A recurring theme is that rehearsed frameworks and explicit team reasoning reduce cognitive burden when information is incomplete.
Pediatric Gun Violence – The New Normal?
A Pediatrics study found that pediatric firearm-injury ED visits nearly doubled from 2016 to 2023, with rates remaining persistently elevated after the pandemic period, while injury severity showed no significant change over time. The source content is partial, limiting assessment of study design and additional findings.
PRAGUE-26 – Catheter-Directed Lytics for PE
The PRAGUE-26 trial found that catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) with alteplase plus anticoagulation was associated with a lower 7-day composite rate of death, recurrent PE, or cardiopulmonary decompensation compared with anticoagulation alone in intermediate-high-risk PE, without a significant increase in major bleeding; full methodology is unavailable from the excerpt provided.
A Timely Twist on Testicular Torsion
In a study of pediatric testicular torsion, manual detorsion performed by pediatric emergency medicine physicians was associated with restoration of testicular blood flow an average of 105 minutes sooner than proceeding directly to surgery, according to this Acad Emerg Med study. Causal conclusions are limited by the observational design.
New to the library does not necessarily mean newly published. This roundup features public resources added during the week and successfully indexed by the time the issue was prepared. Follow the links to read or listen at the original source.