Christopher W. Baugh, MD, MBA, FACEP, Editor R. Gentry Wilkerson, MD, FACEP, Editor Observation units fill a ubiquitous need by providing a setting of care for patients not clearly requiring…
Care of the patient presenting to an emergency department (ED) with chest pain remains a common yet challenging aspect of emergency medicine. Acute coronary syndrome presents in nonspecific fashion. The…
ED observation units (EDOUs) are designed for patients who require diagnostics or therapeutics beyond the initial ED visit to determine the need for hospital admission. Best evidence is that this…
Infants and children and the elderly comprise a large and growing (especially the elderly) segment of the US population. The benefits of observation medicine have been documented in these two…
Patients presenting to the emergency department with certain traumatic conditions can be managed in observation units. The evidence base supporting the use of observation units to manage injured patients is…
In adults, respiratory disorders are the second most frequent diagnoses treated in emergency department observation units (EDOUs) and account for the most frequent indication for placement of pediatric patients into…
As a group, neurologic conditions represent a substantial portion of emergency department (ED) visits. Cerebrovascular disease, headache, vertigo and seizures are all common reasons for patients to seek care in…
Accelerated therapeutic protocols targeting metabolic conditions are ideal for observation unit care. Because many conditions, such as hypokalemia and hyperglycemia, have little to no diagnostic uncertainty, the care in the…
The Emergency Department Observation Unit (EDOU) provides a viable alternative to inpatient admission for the management of many acute gastrointestinal conditions with additional opportunities of reducing resource utilization and reducing…
The first emergency department observation units (EDOUs) focused on chest pain and potential acute coronary syndromes. However, most EDOUs now cover multiple other conditions that lend themselves to protocolized, aggressive…
