EM Guidelines

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a very common condition in the population and an important cause of acute vertigo or dizziness in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED). Despite this, abundant evidence shows that current ED management of patients with BPPV is suboptimal. Common ED management processes include brain imaging and treatment with vestibular suppressant medications such as meclizine, neither of which is recommended by current guidelines. The most efficient management of BPPV is to perform a bedside test (Dix-Hallpike test) and then to treat the patients with a bedside positional (the Epley) maneuver...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 387, Issue 1, Page 45-57, July 2022.

BACKGROUND: Patients present to police, Emergency Medical Services, and the emergency department with aggressive behavior, altered sensorium, and a host of other signs that may include hyperthermia, "superhuman" strength, diaphoresis, and lack of willingness to yield to overwhelming force. A certain percentage of these individuals will go on to expire from a sudden cardiac arrest and death, despite optimal therapy. Traditionally, the forensic community would often classify these as "Excited Delirium" deaths...

AIM: The executive summary of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions coronary artery revascularization guideline provides the top 10 items readers should know about the guideline. In the full guideline, the recommendations replace the 2011 coronary artery bypass graft surgery guideline and the 2011 and 2015 percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines. This summary offers a patient-centric approach to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing coronary revascularization, as well as the supporting documentation to encourage their use...

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction that results from the body's response to infection. It requires prompt recognition, appropriate antibiotics, careful hemodynamic support, and control of the source of infection. With the trend in management moving away from protocolized care in favor of appropriate usual care, an understanding of sepsis physiology and best practice guidelines is critical.

The risks, measurements of severity, and management of severe acute pancreatitis and its complications have evolved rapidly over the past decade. Evidence suggests that initial goal directed therapy, nutritional support, and vigilance for pancreatic complications are best practice. Patients can develop pancreatic fluid collections including acute pancreatic fluid collections, pancreatic pseudocysts, acute necrotic collections, and walled-off necrosis. Several randomized controlled trials and cohort studies have recently highlighted the advantage of managing these conditions with a progressive approach, with initial draining for infection followed by less invasive techniques...

INTRODUCTION: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify predictors of serious clinical outcomes after an acute-care evaluation for syncope. METHODS: We identified studies that assessed for predictors of short-term (≤30 days) serious clinical events after an emergency department (ED) visit for syncope. We performed a MEDLINE search (January 1, 1990 - July 1, 2017) and reviewed reference lists of retrieved articles. The primary outcome was the occurrence of a serious clinical event (composite of mortality, arrhythmia, ischemic or structural heart disease, major bleed, or neurovascular event) within 30 days...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Cirrhosis is a significant cause of death in the U.S. and has a variety of causes, most commonly Hepatitis C and alcohol. Liver fibrosis and nodule formation result in significant complications due to portal system hypertension. There are several deadly complications emergency physicians must consider. OBJECTIVE OF THE REVIEW: Provide an evidence-based update for the resuscitation of decompensating cirrhotic patients and an overview of cirrhosis complications...

Non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease worldwide. The American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology periodically release practice guidelines to guide clinicians in the management of NSTE-ACS, most recently in in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The present review compares and contrasts the 2 guidelines, with a focus on the strength of recommendation and level of evidence in the approach to initial presentation and diagnosis of NSTE-ACS, risk assessment, treatments, and systems of care...

IMPORTANCE: Primary care clinicians find managing chronic pain challenging. Evidence of long-term efficacy of opioids for chronic pain is limited. Opioid use is associated with serious risks, including opioid use disorder and overdose. OBJECTIVE: To provide recommendations about opioid prescribing for primary care clinicians treating adult patients with chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. PROCESS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated a 2014 systematic review on effectiveness and risks of opioids and conducted a supplemental review on benefits and harms, values and preferences, and costs...

IMPORTANCE: Definitions of sepsis and septic shock were last revised in 2001. Considerable advances have since been made into the pathobiology (changes in organ function, morphology, cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, and circulation), management, and epidemiology of sepsis, suggesting the need for reexamination. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and, as needed, update definitions for sepsis and septic shock. PROCESS: A task force (n = 19) with expertise in sepsis pathobiology, clinical trials, and epidemiology was convened by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine...

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation recently released updated 2015 recommendations for resuscitation. The guidelines form the basis for all levels of resuscitation training, now from first aid to advanced life support (ALS), and for trainees of varying medical skills, from schoolchildren to medical students and consultants. We highlight major updates relating to intra-arrest and postarrest care, and the evidence for their recommendation. We also summarise areas of uncertainty in the evidence for ALS, and highlight current discussions that will likely inform the next round of recommendations...

IMPORTANCE: About 10% of patients with acute chest pain are ultimately diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Early, accurate estimation of the probability of ACS in these patients using the clinical examination could prevent many hospital admissions among low-risk patients and ensure that high-risk patients are promptly treated. OBJECTIVE: To review systematically the accuracy of the initial history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and risk scores incorporating these elements with the first cardiac-specific troponin...

PURPOSE: The aim of this guideline is to present current and comprehensive recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. METHODS: A formal literature search of PubMed was performed through the end of August 2013. The writing committee met by teleconference to discuss narrative text and recommendations. Recommendations follow the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association methods of classifying the level of certainty of the treatment effect and the class of evidence...

Pulmonary hypertension is a hemodynamic condition, defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure by right-sided heart catheterization of at least 25 mm Hg at rest. It is classified into 5 general groups based on the underlying cause, with left ventricular failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being 2 of the most common causes in the United States. Although the specifics of the pathophysiology will vary with the cause, appreciating the risks of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure is critical to appropriately evaluating and resuscitating pulmonary hypertension patients in the emergency department (ED)...

IMPORTANCE: Septic shock is a clinical emergency that occurs in more than 230,000 US patients each year. OBSERVATIONS AND ADVANCES: In the setting of suspected or documented infection, septic shock is typically defined in a clinical setting by low systolic (≤90 mm Hg) or mean arterial blood pressure (≤65 mm Hg) accompanied by signs of hypoperfusion (eg, oliguria, hyperlactemia, poor peripheral perfusion, or altered mental status). Focused ultrasonography is recommended for the prompt recognition of complicating physiology (eg, hypovolemia or cardiogenic shock), while invasive hemodynamic monitoring is recommended only for select patients...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: The focus of the diagnostic process in chest pain patients at the emergency department is to identify both low and high risk patients for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The HEART score was designed to facilitate this process. This study is a prospective validation of the HEART score. METHODS: A total of 2440 unselected patients presented with chest pain at the cardiac emergency department of ten participating hospitals in The Netherlands. The HEART score was assessed as soon as the first lab results and ECG were obtained...

Venous thrombo-embolism is the third most frequent acute cardiovascular syndrome after myocardial infarction and stroke. Recently published landmark trials paved the way for significant progress in the management of the disease and provided the evidence for the ESC Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Guidelines 2014 update. Risk stratification strategies for non-high-risk PE continue to evolve, with an increasing emphasis on clinical prediction rules and right ventricular (RV) assessment on computed tomographic pulmonary angiography...