Geriatric Patients
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Adults aged 65 years and older are the foremost utilizers of EMS and are at excess risk for adverse events.1 Studies overwhelmingly agree this high level…
Renal and Urogenital Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Urogenital complaints are common presentations to emergency departments and EMS providers. Although not the typical focus of prehospital education and planning, these clinical scenarios represent a…
Hematological and Oncological Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Hematological and oncological emergencies are sometimes overlooked in EMS planning and off-line medical direction and may seem less frequent than some trauma and medical conditions. However,…
Gastrointestinal Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation are exceedingly common symptoms. In 2007, 10.8 million cases presented to emergency departments with gastrointestinal complaints, representing 9.2% of ED…
Shock and Hemorrhage
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The evaluation and treatment of shock in the prehospital environment presents unique challenges to the EMS physician. Decisions regarding the balance between sophisticated field treatment and…
Endocrine and Immunologic Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen While endocrine and immunologic emergencies may not hold the dramatic appeal of a multiple trauma they are no less fatal and often are definitively treated by…
Decreased Consciousness and Severe Agitation
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen It is common for an EMS physician to encounter patients experiencing an alteration in their level of consciousness. This can present as a decrease in the…
Drowning, Hypothermia, and Hyperthermia
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Environmental exposures lead to numerous emergency calls throughout the United States and beyond each year and result in potentially devastating conditions. Appropriate prehospital care may make…
Neurological Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Neurological problems represent a wide range of presentations. The complaint may be as vague as confusion or lethargy or as specific as hemiparesis or aphasia. The…
Scene Safety and Size-Up
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Practicing emergency medicine in the prehospital setting is rife with opportunities, special considerations, and perils not encountered routinely in the hospital emergency department. EMS physicians transport…
