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Neurologic emergencies of pregnancy range from life-threatening conditions such as eclamptic seizures to self-limiting disorders like meralgia paresthetica. This discussion will include those neurologic disorders directly resulting from pregnancy or the puerperium, those that are pre-existing conditions but now affect the pregnant patient or are affected by the gravid state of the patient, and those disorders that are not directly related to the pregnancy but may first become apparent during the gravid state.
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Infants with an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) present for medical attention because an acute and unexpected incident has alarmed the caregivers. These frightening episodes of apnea and color change in infants have generated considerable concern in both professional and lay groups. This article reviews the presentation, recognition, diagnosis and ED management for children who present with an ALTE.
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Part I of this series focused on hypertensive syndromes and clinical evaluation. This second and final part will cover antihypertensive medications and management of hypertension in specific disease processes.
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This issue of Emergency Medicine Reports reviews urgent and emergent hypertension syndromes encountered in the ED and approaches to patient assessment and pharmacologic management. Part I will cover the clinical evaluation of hypertensive patients and hypertension syndromes. Part II will discuss antihypertensive medications and the management of hypertension in specific disease processes.
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An emergency physician often is the first and only health care provider that families interact with after a loved ones death. Yet emergency physicians often are uncomfortable and undertrained in delivering bad news. This is especially true when the death involves a child. Counseling families after a death needs to be performed properly and systematically to help manage the grief response of survivors. The emergency physician also must be well versed in the after care that is associated with a death in the emergency department, such as organ donation. This issue of Emergency Medicine Specialty Reports offers the means to provide an effective and compassionate death notification in a variety of circumstances.
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In its earlier years, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was defined by court decisions that often were inconsistent with real clinical practice. Although there still are uncertainties with the application of EMTALA to specific clinical scenarios, refinements to the statute have clarified some of its ambiguities. The author discusses some of the recent refinements to EMTALA that help to clarify the statutes meaning to hospitals and the practice of emergency medicine.
