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Recent outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis prompted this issue. Just this past month, outbreaks of measles were reported in California and Florida. These diseases were thought to be disappearing, but now many are returning. And the emergency physician will be called upon to diagnose and treat them. "Childhood" diseases are now seen in adults, often with more serious morbidity and mortality.
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Dog-bite injuries resulting in hospital admissions have increased drastically in recent years, from 5100 cases in 1993 to 9500 in 2008, according to a recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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If a patient presents visibly intoxicated and announces his or her intent to harm others, it's easy to make the decision to involve security. However, any ED patient or visitor has the potential to become physically violent, warns Gordon Lee Gillespie, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC, CEN, CCRN, CPEN, FAEN, assistant professor and director of population-focused care at University of Cincinnati (OH) College of Nursing.
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When a man with a known history of seizures came to the ED at the University of California San Diego Medical Center very agitated, diaphoretic, and yelling, ED nurses first thought he was having a schizophrenic breakdown, says Tia Valentine, RN, CEN, ED clinical nurse educator.
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David M. Solomon, RN, BSN, CEN, EMT-P, patient care coordinator in the ED at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, NC, says that usually, medications for boarded patients have to be ordered from the pharmacy.
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Lacerations are a common reason for patients to come to the emergency department (ED). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2007, "open wounds (excluding the head)" were the primary leading diagnosis for men between the ages of 15 and 64 years.
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Resuscitation in the pregnant patient is an uncommon occurrence, estimated at 1 in 30,000 deliveries, yet it is unique in its potential to save not one, but two lives.