Shock Emanuel P. Rivers, David Amponsah, John Gallien, and Anja K. Jaehne More than 1.5 million cases of shock present to United States (US) emergency departments (EDs) each year, and…

Tachydysrhythmias Scott R. Votey and Eric Silman The axiom that we must treat patients and not electrocardiograms (ECGs) or laboratory results is perhaps nowhere more relevant than in the emergency…

Dental Injuries Kip Benko Complaints pertaining to the teeth are common and patients frequently present to the emergency department (ED) for initial care. Complaints range in scope from simple chipped…

Vertigo Brian Chinnock Vertigo, along with dizziness and other balance disorders, affects up to 70% of people during their lifetime. Vertigo is often categorized into peripheral and central causes. Peripheral…

Eye Trauma Kevin J. Knoop and William Dennis Eye trauma accounts for approximately 1% of annual ED visits, with more than 2 million ocular injuries yearly (1). Of these, 60,000…

Pleural Effusion Micelle Haydel The visceral and parietal pleura are serous membranes that line the outer surface of the lung, mediastinum, diaphragm, and the inner surface of the thoracic wall,…

Hip and Femur Injuries Carl A. Germann and Megan L. Fix Hip injuries are common and associated with notable morbidity and mortality, especially in older patient populations. It is predicted…

Spinal Cord Injuries Brian D. Mahoney The clinical spectrum of spinal cord injury varies from the awake patient complaining of pain, paresthesias, numbness, weakness, or paralysis to the unconscious patient…

Pulmonary Embolism Prathap Sooriyakumaran and Jeffrey A. Tabas Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a relatively common, life-threatening condition that presents a diagnostic dilemma for the emergency practitioner. The incidence in the…

Respiratory Failure Micelle J. Haydel Respiration is the exchange of gases at the level of the alveoli occurring by simple diffusion. Gas in the alveoli has a high concentration of…