Low back pain (LBP) is a common (more than 3 million ED visits per year in the United States) yet typically benign ED complaint.
A 15-year-old girl's mother demands that you give her daughter a pregnancy test, but the child refuses. What do you do?
Consider this scenario: During a malpractice trial involving a patient's adverse outcome in your ED, the jury learns that you've been in the habit of accepting expensive dinners and vacations from drug companies.
Few sounds or smells in the emergency department (ED) get our attention as easily as vomiting. In response, we might reflexively order our "one-size-fits-all" standard antiemetic and begin by assuming that this is probably just another case of "gastroenteritis." There are, however, several antiemetics to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as a myriad of diagnostic possibilities to consider.
Understanding the anatomic and physiologic changes that occur with pregnancy enhance the management of the pregnant trauma patient, potentially improving outcomes for both the mother and fetus. The best approach to fetal preservation is careful attention to resuscitation of the mother.
