Browse Emergency Articles by Topic

The Fourth Amendment: Coming to an ED Near You

ED staff work closely with municipal and state law enforcement officials as well as in-house security workers. That relationship is critical to patient, public, and provider safety. The maintenance of a cordial and functional relationship is imperative. However, it cannot happen at the expense of patients’ health, dignity, and constitutional rights.

ED-based Universal Screening Helps Identify Patients at Risk for Suicide

The ED at Parkland Hospital & Health System in Dallas has implemented a universal screening program to identify patients at risk for suicide. A six-item suicide screen is administered at triage, with patients stratified into three risk groups based on their answers: no risk identified, moderate risk identified, and high risk identified. Patients receive specific interventions based on their risk group.

Lack of Concussion Diagnoses in Dedicated Pediatric ED Raises Concerns

A new study by investigators from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s department of emergency medicine suggests that concussions are “grossly” underdiagnosed in pediatric patients who present to the ED, but it is not clear why or what the ramifications are for patients who do not receive an explicit diagnosis of concussion. The single-center study involved chart reviews of patients who presented to the pediatric ED at University Hospital in Newark, NJ, during an 18-month study period.

ED-based Screening Efforts Help Identify Patients With HIV, Reduce Risk of Transmissions

Although an estimated 85% of people infected with HIV in the United States are aware of their diagnosis, more than 160,000 people remain unaware, leaving them without needed treatment and raising the risk of further transmissions. Experts note there are many missed opportunities to diagnose these patients and connect them to care, as patients at high risk for the virus often are not offered tests when they visit a healthcare provider. However, ED-based HIV screening programs are making progress in this area, with some using new-generation tests to identify more cases, even at the earliest acute stage.

EDs Confront Surge in Hospitalizations and Deaths From Flu-related Complications

By mid-January, flu was widespread in every state except Hawaii, posing big challenges to frontline providers doing their best to stay ahead of the deluge in patients. Hospitals are using an array of strategies to manage spikes in volume. Some are canceling elective surgeries and limiting visitation, while others are creating additional treatment areas in their EDs to manage the demand.

Wound Care Review

Traumatic lacerations are a common ED presentation. Although managing most ED lacerations is routine, some cases are complex, requiring physician judgment for effective treatment. This review will discuss the principles of laceration management, incorporating recent research in wound care.

Recognizing Pediatric Sepsis: Early Diagnosis Critical to Recovery

Identifying pediatric sepsis and treating it quickly can be a matter of life and death.

Pediatric Sepsis and Septic Shock

Pediatric sepsis is a high-stakes diagnosis that requires vigilance to make an early, timely diagnosis. Aggressive resuscitation, including fluids, antibiotics, and vasoactive agents, may be necessary. Rapidly changing standard of care also makes sepsis a critical diagnosis for clinicians.

Restrictive Transfusion Threshold Non-inferior to Liberal Threshold in High-risk Cardiac Surgery

In patients at moderate to high risk of complications with cardiac surgery, a transfusion threshold of hemoglobin < 7.5 g/dL showed similar outcomes to a threshold of < 9.5 g/dL.

Targeted Temperature Management: Determining Optimal Hypothermia Duration

In unconscious survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who are admitted to the ICU, targeted temperature management at 33°C for 48 hours failed to significantly improve neurologic outcomes at six months when compared to 24 hours.