Initial Evaluation and Management of the Burn Patient
Overview Outcomes for burn patients have improved dramatically over the past 20 years, yet burns still cause substantial morbidity and...
Hypokalemia in Emergency Medicine
Practice Essentials Hypokalemia is defined as a potassium level of less than 3.5 mEq/L, while moderate hypokalemia is a serum level of...
Hyperkalemia in Emergency Medicine
Practice Essentials Hyperkalemia is defined as a potassium level greater than 5.5 mEq/L. [1] It can be difficult to diagnose clinically...
Hypercalcemia in Emergency Medicine
Practice Essentials Hypercalcemia is a disorder that most commonly results from malignancy or primary hyperparathyroidism. [1, 2, 3, 4,...
Calcium Channel Blocker Toxicity
Practice Essentials Ingestion of excessive calcium channel blocker (CCB) agents is one of the most potentially lethal prescription drug...
Anaphylaxis
Practice Essentials Anaphylaxis is an acute, potentially fatal, multiorgan system reaction caused by the release of chemical mediators...
HIV Infection and AIDS
Practice Essentials Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a blood-borne virus typically transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared...
Aortic Dissection
Summary Aortic dissection (see the image below) is defined as separation of the layers within the aortic wall. Tears in the intimal layer...
Cocaine-Related Cardiomyopathy
Overview Cocaine is a commonly used illegal recreational drug that may have significant cardiovascular implications. In particular,...
Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma
Introduction Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death among individuals younger than 45 years old [1]. Eighty percent of traumatic...
