Noting that opioid analgesics are among the drugs most often associated with adverse drug events, the Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Alert, urging hospitals to step up their efforts to prevent complications and deaths from use of these powerful drugs.
While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta has been calling on EDs to routinely test patients for HIV since 2006, the practice is hardly widespread.
Coughs and hiccups are common emergency department complaints. While the majority of their causes are benign, patients with these symptoms can suffer from significant distress and impaired quality of life. Most patients with these symptoms can be effectively managed by understanding the pathophysiology and differential diagnosis of these symptoms and by using evidence-based therapy. It is important for the physician to be aware of the emergent conditions that may present with these seemingly benign complaints.
