All articles tagged with #emergency medicine
A large-scale study reveals that US emergency departments increasingly rely on CT scans to diagnose kidney stones, with usage rising from 73.8% to 89.8% between 2016 and 2024. Conversely, ultrasound use declined from 5.8% to 3.8%. Hospital admissions for nephrolithiasis also increased, shifting from 8.9% to 12.7% over the same period.
Northern Ireland has launched a 24/7 thrombectomy service, making it the first UK region to provide round-the-clock emergency stroke treatment for its entire population. The £5m expansion, operational since September 14, doubles annual capacity to 300 procedures and ensures patients are no longer denied life-saving clot removal based on the time of day their stroke occurs.
September is Sepsis Awareness Month, highlighting a condition that kills more people in the U.S. than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and opioid overdoses combined. While early detection saves lives, delays in antibiotic treatment and rising antimicrobial resistance complicate outcomes. International health bodies emphasize infection prevention, while personal accounts illustrate the rapid progression from infection to organ failure.
A Richmond gastroenterologist woke to a bat in her mouth, trapped the animal for rabies testing and sought emergency care, learning that exposure requires prompt action; the bat later tested negative, underscoring the importance of contacting local health authorities and following testing guidelines when a bat exposure occurs.
A Richmond gastroenterologist woke to a bat trying to enter her mouth, trapped the bat for rabies testing instead of killing it, and went to the ER for guidance; experts stress that any bat exposure should be promptly reported to local health authorities and tested, since rabies is fatal and testing can take about 48 hours, with incubation potentially weeks to months. The bat in this case tested negative for rabies.
Tampa General Hospital announced the nation’s first EMS-driven drone program to deliver whole blood to the scene, aiming to cut on-scene transfusion times to under three minutes over a 70-square-mile area in Hillsborough County. The initiative, a collaboration with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, USF Health, OneBlood and Archer First Response Systems, allows first responders to begin transfusions at the scene, potentially improving survival in hemorrhagic trauma. The pilot will operate from two Fire Rescue stations (9 and 37) with plans to expand, and is slated to go online in October 2026 pending Hillsborough County Commission approval.
A 5-year-old on a family vacation in Oregon developed a stomachache and vomiting that rapidly escalated to a life-threatening case of Clarkson’s disease (systemic capillary leak syndrome). The rare diagnosis, typically seen in adults and with few pediatric cases, caused plasma leakage, edema, and distributive shock, leading to the child’s death after extensive life-support efforts. The case underscores how difficult it is to diagnose this condition in children and that there is no established cure, with fundraising supporting the family.
A study and reports show a sharp rise in injuries from pedal-powered and electric bikes and scooters treated in NYC ERs, with e-bike–related trauma increasing from under 10% of trauma admissions in 2018 to over 50% by 2023. About one-third of the 914 patients studied sustained traumatic brain injuries; helmet use was under 33%, and 20% tested positive for alcohol. With e-bikes capable of up to 28 mph, crashes pose greater risk to riders and pedestrians alike, who suffer brain injuries at nearly double the rate of riders. Researchers call for safer bike lanes, helmet programs, and enforcement, and some states (like New Jersey) have enacted registration and licensing requirements to curb risk as micromobility grows.
Medical experts say certain pains should never be ignored: sudden, persistent pain; chest pain especially if new or worsening; calf pain with redness or swelling (possible deep vein thrombosis); upper back pain with a tearing sensation (potential aorta issue); and lower abdominal or flank pain that could signal kidney problems, infection, or appendicitis. If you’re worried, seek prompt evaluation at the ER or urgent care as appropriate, keeping in mind that costs matter but safety comes first.
Dr. Jeremy Faust, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital emergency physician, blends lifesaving care with boundary-pushing journalism through his Inside Medicine Substack, delivering timely scoops to about 85,000 subscribers—including an early report on hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius—while also conducting the Longwood Chorus.
Researchers studying Arctic ground squirrels, which can survive months of extreme cold by entering a deep, hibernation-like state, aim to translate this ability into human therapies that slow metabolism to buy time during heart attacks, strokes, and brain injuries. Approaches include triggering hibernation-like metabolic slowdown via adenosine-like signals or targeted brain circuit manipulation, with potential benefits for organ preservation and even long-term spaceflight, though translating these findings to humans remains experimental and challenging.
Seven-year-old Geno Mueller suffered a stroke at a pool; his father Bo Mueller immediately recognized warning signs, called 911, and Geno was flown to the Cleveland Clinic for emergency clot removal, after which he recovered and returned to school, highlighting that strokes can occur in children and the BE FAST signs should trigger urgent care during Stroke Awareness Month.
Harvard/BIDMC researchers tested OpenAI’s o1-preview against two physicians in ER triage; the AI diagnosed correctly in 67.1% of 76 real cases (physicians 55.3% and 50%), and offered a helpful differential in 97.9% of cases. The study suggests AI could complement clinicians, not replace them, but notes limitations with multimodal data and hallucinations, underscoring the need for rigorous trials and safety safeguards before broad adoption.
A Harvard Science study shows AI systems outperformed human doctors in emergency department triage using the same electronic health records; AI reached 67% exact/close diagnoses vs 50–55% for humans and performed better on longer-term treatment planning (89% vs 34%). However, the test used only text-based data and did not assess signals like distress or appearance, framing AI as a second-opinion tool rather than a replacement for clinicians. Experts see AI as potentially reshaping medicine while emphasizing accountability and ongoing evaluation.
A yearlong JAMA trial with 800 emergency physicians at non-trauma centers found that training with the Night Shift video game reduced under-triage of severely injured older patients from 57% to 49% compared with standard education; the effect faded after about 30 days, suggesting shorter, more frequent refreshers may help, and that game-based training could strengthen clinical judgment.