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Side Effects of Opioids

More than 40% of ED visits are related to pain.1 The Joint Commission has made the assessment and treatment of pain in the ED one of its standards.2 The use of opioid medications has been increasing in both adults and children.3-5 In 2009 there were more than 200 million prescriptions for opioid medications, with enough medication dispensed to supply every adult in the United States with the equivalent of 5 mg of hydrocodone every four hours for one month.

These Suits Against EPs Became Indefensible: Medical Records Were Altered

In a case related to the alleged delay in providing care to a patient, an emergency physician (EP) was accused of altering the time that he ordered certain treatments for the patient.

Social Media Can Lead to Suits Against EP for Malpractice, Civil Defamation

In 2013, an emergency department (ED) director was terminated after commenting on a patients photo, which had been posted on Facebook by an ED nurse.1 In a similar case the same year, an emergency physician (EP) was sued after posting a photo of an intoxicated patient that included comments.

Classic Heavy Hitters: Tricky Diagnoses That Recurrently Lead to Large Malpractice Payouts

Certain diagnoses have recurrently and consistently been the bane of emergency department (ED) physicians, with regard to malpractice payouts year after year. They continue to be missed, and lead to some of the larger awards. Below we present several recent typical cases to raise awareness and avoid liability.

EMTALA Lawsuits Involving Psychiatric Patients Held in ED Rarely Successful

The risk of an Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) lawsuit involving a patient with psychiatric illness is low, according to a recent study.1 If emergency physicians (EPs) perform appropriate medical screening examinations, the lawsuit is rarely successful.

Hypoperfusion Response During Cortical Spreading Depolariz

This study examines and describes the occurrence of an inverse neurovascular coupling response in peri-contusional brain tissue as a potential and novel mechanism for secondary brain injury.

Anti-Titin Antibodies in Myasthenia Gravis

In addition to autoantibodies directed against the acetylcholine receptor (AchR) and the receptor-associated protein muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) demonstrate a host of other antibodies.

Stroke Alert

Carotid MRI scanning was performed in 1414 stroke-free participants, older than the age of 45 years, to assess the morphology of any atherosclerotic plaques, specifically to look at the presence of a lipid core, intraplaque hemorrhage, calcification, or fibrous tissue in each carotid artery.

DaTSCAN to Distinguish Parkinson’s Disease from Secondary Parkinsonism

DaTSCAN imaging makes use of the dopamine transporter (DAT) ligand [123I]FP-CIT used with SPECT to provide a means to visualize the integrity of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. DaTSCAN has been approved in the United States to aid in evaluation of patients in whom Parkinsons disease (PD) and certain other related neurodegenerative disorders are suspected.

Utility of Anti-JC Virus Antibody Index to Assess the Risk of PML in Natalizumab-Treated MS Patients

Natalizumab is a monoclonal antibody that is FDA-approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Among the available options to treat MS, it is one of the most effective.