Aortic dissection (AD) is a lethal, treatable disruption of the aortic vessel wall. It often presents without classic features, mimicking symptoms of other conditions, and diagnosis is often delayed. Established…

Alex Koyfman, MD, Editor Brit Long, MD, Editor

Airway management in the trauma patient presents numerous unique challenges beyond placement of an endotracheal tube and outcomes are dependent on the provider’s ability to anticipate difficulty. Airway management strategies…

Pediatric patients with trauma pose unique challenges, both practical and cognitive, to front-line care providers. The combination of anatomic, physiologic, and metabolic factors leads to unique injury patterns with different…

Old age is a risk factor for poor outcome in trauma patients, as a result of undertriage and the presence of occult life-threatening injuries. The mechanisms of injury for geriatric…

Care of the critically injured begins well before the patient arrives at a large academic trauma center. It is important to understand the continuum of care from the point of…

Vascular injuries represent a significant burden of mortality and disability. Blunt injuries to the neck vessels can present with signs of stroke either immediately or in a delayed fashion. Most…

Severe pelvic trauma is a challenging condition. The pelvis can create multifocal hemorrhage that is not easily compressible nor managed by traditional surgical methods such as tying off a blood…

Traumatic injuries to the thorax are common after both blunt and penetrating trauma. Emergency medicine physicians must be able to manage the initial resuscitation and diagnostic workup of these patients….

A standardized approach should be used with a patient with abdominal trauma, including primary and secondary surveys, followed by additional diagnostic testing as indicated. Specific factors can make the diagnosis…