Emergency medicine clinics of North America
-
Salivary gland disorders are uncommon in the emergency department setting. Given the vast differential that spans infectious, autoimmune, neoplastic, and metabolic processes, they can pose a diagnostic challenge even to skilled clinicians. There is a paucity of evidence-based data regarding the management of these disorders with frequent incongruence between specific sources. Although by no means exhaustive or absolute, this article reconciles existing literature and serves as a concise and informative guide to salivary gland disorders encountered by the emergency care practitioner.
-
Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · May 2013
ReviewEmergency evaluation and management of the sore throat.
Although sore throat is a very common complaint in the emergency department and is often associated with benign conditions, such as pharyngitis, it can be the early onset of something much more serious and even life threatening. A thorough history and examination are vital to the correct diagnosis but a high index of suspicion must be maintained to diagnose less common but serious pathology, such as epiglottitis and retropharyngeal abscess. Airway management is paramount to survival, and aggressive means should be taken early when epiglottitis is considered.
-
Emergency physicians should be comfortable treating most dental and related infections. In this article, we outline recommended techniques to perform a dental examination, explore common pathologies, recommend pain and antibiotic management strategies and review common pitfalls. How to avoid overprescribing opioid analgesics is discussed in depth, along with recent studies to support this strategy.
-
Ocular inflammation and infection may involve any part of the eye and surrounding tissue. A complete examination, including visual acuity, extraocular movements, pupillary response, slit lamp examination, and fluorescein staining, is often required to establish the diagnosis. Pain relief may be achieved with oral analgesics and cycloplegics. In most cases, prompt follow-up is required.
-
Trauma is one of the leading causes of monocular blindness worldwide. Recognizing, evaluating, and managing vision-threatening injuries, such as globe rupture, retrobulbar hemorrhage, intraocular foreign bodies, and hyphemas, are paramount for emergency physicians to reduce the risk of vision loss and other complications. Other emergent ocular complaints, such as acute-angle closure glaucoma, and retinal detachment also require temporizing emergency management that can reduce complications while awaiting definitive specialty care. Understanding these conditions and evidence-based management will enable the emergency physician to provide the most up-to-date standard of care.