Emergency Medicine - Adult and Pediatric
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Many Emergency Medicine Residents Struggle with Communication
Researchers studied how to objectively assess patient/physician interactions in the ED. They used an observational tool to assess emergency medicine residents’ non-technical skills in patient interactions. This tool allows educators to consistently measure several important interpersonal domains to pinpoint the reasons why interactions are poor.
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Legal Implications if Adolescents Seek Confidential Care
Generally, emergency clinicians are required to obtain parental consent for care provided to minors. However, there can be exceptions if the minor is seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections, mental health, substance use disorders, sexual assault, or pregnancy. Several federal and state laws apply. Healthcare professionals are advised to be aware of the laws where they practice.
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Tracking Undertriage Can Help Prevent Medical Errors
Investigators found several issues were important to track using quality improvement methods, including discrepancy in exam or history between the triage and assessment nurses, along with discrepancy between the chief complaint and the physical exam. Also, they found failure to synthesize historic or objective information.
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Repeat Visits Are Second Chances to Avoid Misdiagnosis
Conditions that start with subtle signs and evolve over time are traps for the practitioner who is too rushed to let the situation unfold.
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Updates on Syncope
Syncope is a common ED chief complaint that often results in over-ordering of tests and unnecessary admission to the hospital, with significant economic impact. The main focus of the emergency medicine physician is to risk stratify the patient based on the history and physical exam.
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Nurses at Rural Facilities Explain Barriers to End-of-Life Care
Family members often disagree with one another and misunderstand the meaning of “lifesaving measures.”
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Button Battery Ingestions Leading to More Pediatric ED Visits
Children are eating these tiny disks; researchers call for better laws and regulations.
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Selected Orthopedic Emergencies
Musculoskeletal complaints are among the most seen conditions presenting to the emergency department (ED), accounting for nearly 20% of all ED visits. The majority of these diagnoses involve significant patient discomfort but are not typically associated with significant morbidity. However, there are a few diagnoses that are considered true orthopedic emergencies. The emergency physician should be familiar with the evaluation and management of these critical diagnoses.
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An Overview of Parasites in Pediatric Patients
As we have learned from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we are susceptible to infections from a diversity of locations. Awareness of infections that may travel to our emergency departments is critical to making an accurate diagnosis and institute appropriate treatment.
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Health Systems Start Transition to New Approach for Treating Ischemic Stroke
Alteplase has been a mainstay to treat ischemic stroke. When given within hours of an episode, evidence has shown the clot-busting medication can improve outcomes. But what if there was a drug that could deliver similar, and possibly even better, outcomes for a subset of stroke patients without some of the logistical hurdles associated with alteplase?