Altitude Emergencies Christopher Davis, Zina Semenovskaya, and Jay Lemery BACKGROUND Altitude illness encompasses a spectrum of clinical entities that occur at elevation as a result of hypobaric hypoxia. While a…

Subarachnoid and Intracerebral Hemorrhage A.L.O. Manoel, Cappy Lay, D. Turkel-Parrella, Joshua Stillman, and Alberto Goffi BACKGROUND Cerebrovascular disease is the fourth leading cause of death in North America and accounts…

Acute Liver Failure and Hepatic Encephalopathy Robert J. Wong and Glen A. Lutchman BACKGROUND Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare condition characterized by a rapid decline in hepatic synthetic…

Burns and Soft Tissue Infections Carla M. Carvalho and Paul Maggio BURNS Background Each year in the United States, 450,000 people require medical treatment for burns, with 40,000 requiring hospitalization…

Sedation of the Agitated Patient Randall Wood and Jin H. Han BACKGROUND Emergency physicians are frequently called upon to provide care to agitated, violent, and combative patients. These patients pose…

Vasopressors and Inotropes Matthew C. Strehlow BACKGROUND Vasopressors and inotropes are vasoactive agents used to improve cardiac output and distribution of blood flow in patients suffering from shock. Vasopressors act…

Metabolic Inhibitors Lauren K. Shawn and Lewis S. Nelson BACKGROUND The complicated metabolic pathways of the human body present multiple opportunities for poisoning. Toxins can inhibit essential pathways in many…

Pancreatitis Susan Y. Quan and Walter G. Park BACKGROUND The pancreas is approximately 6 to 10 inches long, is located directly behind the stomach, and has distinct endocrine and exocrine…

Biomarkers in Sepsis David M. Maslove BACKGROUND According to the Biomarkers Definition Working Group, a biomarker is any “…characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal…