Pertussis, commonly known as the "whooping cough," is an infection of the upper respiratory tract leading to a protracted cough illness. Emergency physicians should become familiar with the diagnosis and management of this disease, given the potential of pertussis infections to cause serious morbidity and mortality in young infants.
The efficacy of statins in preventing cardiovascular events is well known, but approximately 10% of patients will develop elevations in liver function tests (LFTs).
This retrospective analysis of a large number of patients presenting with pulmonary embolism demonstrated that hyponatremia is common in this condition and is an independent predictor of 30-day mortality and hospital readmission.
