Outline of emergency medicine
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to emergency medicine:
Emergency medicine – medical specialty involving care for undifferentiated, unscheduled patients with acute illnesses or injuries that require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency physicians undertake acute investigations and interventions to resuscitate and stabilize patients. Emergency physicians generally practice in hospital emergency departments, pre-hospital settings via emergency medical services, and intensive care units.
Presentations[edit | edit source]
- Abdominal pain
- Altered level of consciousness
- Back pain
- Chest pain
- Coma
- Confusion
- Constipation
- Cyanosis
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Dyspnea
- Fever
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Headache
- Hemoptysis
- Jaundice
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pelvic pain
- Seizure
- Sore throat
- Syncope
- Testicular pain
- Vaginal bleeding
- Vertigo
- Weakness
Types of emergencies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are conditions that constitute a possible medical emergency and may require immediate first aid, emergency room care, surgery, or care by a physician or nurse. Not all medical emergencies are life-threatening; some conditions require medical attention in order to prevent significant and long-lasting effects on physical or mental health.
Blood[edit | edit source]
Children[edit | edit source]
Endocrine[edit | edit source]
- Acid base disorder
- Diabetes mellitus
- Rhabdomyolysis
- Thyroid storm
- Adrenal crisis
- Acute renal failure
- Addisonian crisis
- Dehydration
- Diabetic coma
- Electrolyte disturbance
- Hepatic encephalopathy
- Hypercalcemic crisis
- Lactic acidosis
- Malnutrition and starvation
- Pheochromocytoma
Environmental[edit | edit source]
- Accidental hypothermia
- Drowning
- Electric shock and lightning injuries
- Frostbite
- Heat illness
- Radiation injuries
- Scuba diving hazards and dysbarism
Eyes[edit | edit source]
- Acute angle-closure glaucoma
- Giant-cell arteritis
- Orbital perforation or penetration
- Retinal detachment
Gastrointestinal[edit | edit source]
Genitourinary[edit | edit source]
- Acute prostatitis
- Paraphimosis
- Priapism
- Testicular torsion
- Urinary retention
- Renal failure
- Sexually transmitted infection
Heart and blood vessels[edit | edit source]
- Acute coronary syndrome
- Air embolism (arterial)
- Aortic aneurysm (ruptured)
- Aortic dissection
- Bleeding
- Hypovolemia
- Cardiac arrest
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Cardiac tamponade
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Heart block
- Heart failure
- Hypertensive emergency
- Infectious endocarditis
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Myocarditis
- Pericarditis
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Pulmonary embolism
- Valvular heart disease
Infectious disease[edit | edit source]
- HIV/AIDS
- Cellulitis
- Necrotizing fasciitis
- Osteomyelitis
- Rabies
- Sepsis
- Septic arthritis
- Tuberculosis
- Meningitis
- Cholera
- Ear infection
- Gas gangrene
- Lyme disease
- Malaria
- Neutropenic sepsis
- Salmonella poisoning
Inflammatory[edit | edit source]
Injury[edit | edit source]
- Abdominal trauma
- Nose bleed
- Appendicitis
- Ballistic trauma (gunshot wound)
- Bite
- Bone fracture
- Burns
- Chest trauma
- Child abuse
- Domestic abuse
- Facial trauma
- Flail chest
- Foreign body
- Fulminant colitis
- Head injury
- Hyperthermia (including heat stroke or sunstroke)
- Hypothermia or frostbite
- Intestinal obstruction
- Pancreatitis
- Peritonitis
- Polytrauma
- Ruptured spleen
- Sexual assault
- Spinal disc herniation
- Spinal injury
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Traumatic brain injury
- Wound
Lungs and airway[edit | edit source]
- Agonal breathing
- Asphyxia
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Epiglottitis
- Pleurisy
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- Pulmonary embolism
- Respiratory failure
- Upper respiratory infection
Nervous system[edit | edit source]
- Spinal-cord injury
- Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
- Delirium
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
- Seizures
- Serotonin syndrome
- Status migrainosus
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Subdural hematoma
Pregnancy[edit | edit source]
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Eclampsia
- Pre-eclampsia
- Fetal distress
- Obstetrical bleeding
- Placental abruption
- Prolapsed cord
- Puerperal sepsis
- Shoulder dystocia
- Uterine rupture
Psychiatric[edit | edit source]
- Anxiety
- Attempted suicide
- Excited delirium
- Homicidal ideation
- Mood disorder
- Psychomotor agitation
- Psychotic episode
- Somatoform disorder
- Suicidal ideation
- Thought disorder
Skin[edit | edit source]
Toxicological[edit | edit source]
- Overdose
- Acetaminophen overdose
- Aspirin overdose and other NSAIDs
- Poisoning
- Beta blocker toxicity
- Calcium channel blocker toxicity
- Ethylene glycol poisoning
- Food poisoning
Gynecologic[edit | edit source]
- Sexual assault (rape)
Emergency medical care[edit | edit source]
Critical care[edit | edit source]
- Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns (ACoRN)
- Airway management
- Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP)
- Mechanical ventilation
- Shock
- Resuscitation
Life support[edit | edit source]
Environmental medicine[edit | edit source]
Branches of emergency medicine[edit | edit source]
- Emergency medical services
- Emergency nursing
- Emergency psychiatry
- International emergency medicine
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Pre-hospital emergency medicine
- Social emergency medicine
Contributory fields[edit | edit source]
Emergency medicine is multidisciplinary – due to the diversity of medical emergencies encountered, emergency medicine relies heavily upon the knowledge and procedures of many medical specialties, including:
- Critical care medicine
- Disaster medicine
- Hospice care
- Hyperbaric medicine
- Pain management
- Palliative care
- Sports medicine
- Ultrasound
- Wilderness medicine
Emergency medical system[edit | edit source]
Emergency medical services[edit | edit source]
Emergency medical facilities[edit | edit source]
Emergency medical professionals[edit | edit source]
Tools and equipment[edit | edit source]
- Bag valve mask (BVM)
- Chest tube
- Defibrillation (AED
- ICD)
- Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
- Intraosseous infusion (IO)
- Intravenous therapy (IV)
- Tracheal intubation
- Laryngeal tube
- Combitube
- Nasopharyngeal airway (NPA)
- Oropharyngeal airway (OPA)
- Pocket mask
Drugs[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
Journals[edit | edit source]
- Critical Care Medicine
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Military Medicine
- Shock
- Trauma
- Academic Emergency Medicine
- American Journal of Emergency Medicine
- Annals of Emergency Medicine
- Annals of Intensive Care
- Critical Care Clinics
- Emergency Medicine Australasia
- Emergency Medicine Journal
- Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine
- Injury Prevention
- Journal of Critical Care
- Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock
- Journal of Emergency Nursing
- Journal of Injury and Violence Research
- Journal of Intensive Care Medicine
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Prehospital Emergency Care
- The Journal of Emergency Medicine
Organizations[edit | edit source]
- American Board of Emergency Medicine
- American College of Emergency Physicians
- American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine
- Asian Society for Emergency Medicine
- Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
- British Association for Immediate Care
- Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians
- Emergency Nurses Association
- European Resuscitation Council
- European Society of Emergency Medicine
- International Federation for Emergency Medicine
- International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation
- Resuscitation Council
- Royal College of Emergency Medicine
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
Lua error in Module:Sister_project_links at line 469: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- "www.cfpc.ca" (PDF).
Search WikiMD
Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD
WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia |
Let Food Be Thy Medicine Medicine Thy Food - Hippocrates |
Translate this page: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
தமிழ்,
తెలుగు,
Urdu,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
বাংলা
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
Greek,
português do Brasil,
polski,
română,
русский,
Nederlands,
norsk,
svenska,
suomi,
Italian
Middle Eastern & African
عربى,
Turkish,
Persian,
Hebrew,
Afrikaans,
isiZulu,
Kiswahili,
Other
Bulgarian,
Hungarian,
Czech,
Swedish,
മലയാളം,
मराठी,
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ,
ગુજરાતી,
Portuguese,
Ukrainian
Medical Disclaimer: WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. The information on WikiMD is provided as an information resource only, may be incorrect, outdated or misleading, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. WikiMD expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site. By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions, which may from time to time be changed or supplemented by WikiMD. If you do not agree to the foregoing terms and conditions, you should not enter or use this site. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.
Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD