Neck pain after blunt trauma is common but significant cervical spine injuries are not. An unrecognized cervical spine injury can be catastrophic as it can lead to serious neurologic disability or even death. As a result, we as clinicians are fairly liberal about performing imaging of the cervical spine after trauma. Prior to the creation of the NEXUS C-spine criteria and the Canadian C-spine criteria,
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Each year, 22 million people worldwide will experience a stroke. 50% of these are ischemic strokes. For years, there were no effective treatments for these patients. As a result, the burden of ischemic stroke was enormous. Patients often experience debilitating strokes requiring round-the-clock care. Acute ischemic strokes represent the leading cause of disability in our society and the third most common cause of death.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common dysrhythmias encountered in the ED. Patients with chronic AF often present with increased heart rates, chest pain and weakness among other presentations. However, it’s the patients with new onset AF that really peak our interest. Why? Well, the management of these patients is potentially exciting, filled with procedures and clearly debatable.
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Injuries are a major cause of death worldwide. Millions of people die every year from traffic injuries. In fact, they are the 9th leading cause of death around the world. Additionally, another 1.5 million people die every year from interpersonal violence. Hemorrhage accounts for about 1/3 of all trauma deaths and as such, it should be our goal to find treatments to decrease death from hemorrhage.
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Sudden cardiac arrest is common and, obviously, very bad. In the US, there are about 500,000 cardiac arrests each year. About half of these cardiac arrests are out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and the survival rate is pretty poor. The most recent survival estimates put it at 7 – 9.5% in most communities.
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