Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Respiratory emergencies are 1 of the most common reasons parents seek evaluation for the their children in the emergency department (ED) each year, and respiratory failure is the most common cause of cardiopulmonary arrest in pediatric patients. Whereas many respiratory illnesses are mild and self-limiting, others are life threatening and require prompt diagnosis and management. Therefore, it is imperative that emergency clinicians be able to promptly recognize and manage these illnesses. This article reviews ED diagnosis and management of foreign body aspiration, asthma exacerbation, epiglottitis, bronchiolitis, community-acquired pneumonia, and pertussis.
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Undifferentiated patients in respiratory distress require immediate attention in the emergency department. Using a thorough history and clinical examination, clinicians can determine the most likely causes of dyspnea. Understanding the pathophysiology of the most common diseases contributing to dyspnea guides rational testing and informed, expedited treatment decisions.
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Pulmonary ultrasound continues to develop and is ideally suited for the evaluation and treatment of respiratory emergencies. It is portable, can be performed rapidly, has no ionizing radiation, and is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of pneumothorax, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and free fluid in the chest.
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Acute dyspnea in older patients is a common presentation to the emergency department. Acute dyspnea in older adults is often the consequence of multiple overlapping disorders, such as pneumonia precipitating acute heart failure. Emergency physicians must be comfortable managing patients with acute dyspnea of uncertain cause and varying goals of care. In addition to the important role noninvasive ventilation (NIV) plays in full resuscitation, NIV can be useful as a method of providing supportive or nearly fully supportive care while more information is gathered from the patients and their loved ones.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Feb 2016
ReviewEarly Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is defined by acute diffuse inflammatory lung injury invoked by a variety of systemic or pulmonary insults. Despite medical progress in management, mortality remains 27% to 45%. Patients with ARDS should be managed with low tidal volume ventilation. ⋯ Prone positioning and neuromuscular blockers reduce mortality in some patients. Early management of ARDS is relevant to emergency medicine. Identifying ARDS patients who should be transferred to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation center is an important task for emergency providers.