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There has been recent emphasis in cardiology literature highlighting the importance of recognizing a new sub-specialty within the field, aimed at treating adult patients who have survived after having congenital heart disease repair.
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Americans use many medications for countless medical conditions, spending about $100 billion annually. Unfortunately, partly because we use so many medications, medication error has become an important medical topic in the 21st century.
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Exposures to toxic alcohols such as methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropanol have been reported in the medical literature for decades. These agents are found in a variety of household products, leading to accidental ingestion in the pediatric population and intentional ingestion in the adult population as a suicidal agent or as an inexpensive substitute for ethanol.
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Two-part series on complications of pregnancy.
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These next two issues of Emergency Medicine Reports will cover many of the complications and problems that may cause the pregnant woman to come see you. Part I will focus on miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, gestational trophoblastic disease, and venous thromboembolic states. Part II will discuss hypertensive disorders, amniotic fluid embolism, and late pregnancy bleeding.
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Prompt, accurate assessment of the severity of injury and early initiation
of appropriate critical care — including adequate oxygenation,
ventilation and correction of hypotension — is of crucial importance
in preventing deaths in children with severe trauma. This article reviews
the critical aspects of airway assessment and management in the pediatric
trauma patient.
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Most cases of thrombocytopenia seen in the emergency department (ED) are expected. Patients are known to have hematological disease or are receiving chemotherapy. At times, however, the ED physician is confronted with an unexpected laboratory finding in an assymptomatic patient, or with a patient who is bleeding. The challenge, as usual, is to determine the need for acute treatment and the appropriate disposition.
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How many of your patients have a CT scan during their ED evaluation? Many hospitals report rates of 20% or more. A significant number of these scans are of the abdomen and pelvis. It is important for the emergency physician to have the knowledge to view and interpret these images.
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Prompt, accurate assessment of the severity of injury and early initiation of appropriate critical care — including adequate oxygenation, ventilation and correction of hypotension — is of crucial importance in preventing deaths in children with severe trauma. This article reviews the critical aspects of airway assessment and management in the pediatric trauma patient.
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The first part of this series discussed abdominal pain in pediatric patients. This second and final part will cover abdominal pain in elderly, immunocompromised, and pregnant patients. Those 65 years of age and older constitute the fastest-growing segment of the population, and currently comprise about 12% of the U.S. population. This means that abdominal pain in the elderly will be a commonplace occurrence in EDs.
