Emergencies / First Aid

Attention drug emergencies soar for U.S. kids-report

Calls to poison control centers for U.S. teenagers who have overdosed on attention deficit drugs rose 76 percent over eight years, researchers reported on…    

Hispanics face longer wait for emergency GI care

Hispanic whites seeking emergency treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses wait twice as long to see a doctor compared to non-Hispanic whites, new research shows.…    

Cardiac CT Is More Cost Effective When Managing Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

Cardiac CT Is More Cost Effective When Managing Low-Risk Patients with Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

The use of cardiac CT…    

Physicians Frequently Fail to Inform Patients About Abnormal Test Results

New research shows that physicians failed to report clinically significant abnormal test results to patients—or to document that they had informed them—in one out…    

Teens’ growth-plate injuries need early care

Injuries to the bones’ growth plates are fairly common in adolescent athletes, but prompt attention is required to keep these injuries from becoming…    

Kids who die from cold meds often very young

If used as prescribed, over-the-counter cough and cold medications are very safe for use in children. The deaths that do occur typically involve…    

Black patients wait longer in ER for hospital bed

African-Americans who are admitted to the hospital after being seen in the emergency room wait about an hour longer than patients of other races…    

Children and Orthopaedic Surgical Emergencies

Severe musculoskeletal conditions in children include bone and joint infections, a hip problem known as slipped epiphysis, and elbow fractures. These can lead…    

Young adult stroke patients may be misdiagnosed in ER

Young adults with stroke symptoms are sometimes misdiagnosed in emergency rooms — making them miss effective early treatment — according to research presented today…    

Most with severe headache avoid emergency care

Despite the pervasiveness of migraine and other headache disorders in the U.S., most individuals suffering a severe headache steer clear of emergency departments, survey…    

Research identifies in-flight emergencies

Fainting is the most common in-flight medical emergency. Research recently published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Critical Care details the number, type and…    

Hospital Emergency Departments Treat Mostly Poor Children

Lower-income children made almost twice as many visits to hospital emergency departments than higher-income children in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers…    

Researchers light up lungs to help diagnose disease

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed innovative technology which illuminates a person´s lungs and helps clinicians identify if they are functioning correctly.…    

First diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease on the horizon

A new blood test that can give an early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and distinguish between Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease could be launched this…    

Hospital Expands Intensive Care for Premature Babies

On April 2, 2008, UC San Diego Medical Center-Hillcrest celebrated the opening of an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) designed for the 24-hour…    

Eye test peers into heat-related multiple sclerosis symptoms

A bodysuit that heats or cools a patient, combined with painless measurements of eye movements, is providing multiple sclerosis researchers at UT Southwestern Medical…    

First Early-Detection Blood Test for Parkinson’s Shows Promise

A test that profiles molecular biomarkers in blood could become the first accurate diagnostic test for Parkinson’s disease, new research shows.

The…    

Tips for Troublesome Medications

Bad reactions to a prescribed medication send more than 175,000 older Americans to the emergency room each year. Just 10 commonly used medications -…    

Emergency response

Disasters are getting worse it seems but the federal government’s preparedness has been limited to helping after a disaster has occurred. On the other…    

Existing Call Centers Can Expand Communications in Public Health Emergencies

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today released Adapting Community Call Centers for Crisis Support: A…    

Paramedics can provide an effective alternative to standard ambulance service in the community

Paramedics with extended skills can provide a safe and effective alternative to standard ambulance transfer and hospital treatment for older people with a minor…    

High-Deductible Health Plans Linked to Fewer Emergency Room Visits

Patients who switched to high-deductible health plans went to the emergency department 10 percent less than patients who remained in traditional plans, according to…    

Lower Dose MDCT Can Detect Urinary Stones Disease Even in Obese Patients

MDCT performed using a modulated tube current system – which adapts the tube current to the patient’s anatomic configuration and size—results in as much…    

Emergency Medicaid for immigrants goes to childbirth

An analysis of state Emergency Medicaid spending contradicts assumptions about emergency care provided to recent immigrants, researchers from the University of North Carolina at…    

Multislice CT Speeds the Diagnosis of Chest Pain in the Emergency Room

Imagine coming to the hospital with crushing chest pain, only to find that emergency room doctors are uncertain whether you’re having a heart attack.…