Intravenous tPA is the only FDA-approved (since 1996) medication for the management of acute ischemic stroke. tPA is a thrombolytic agent that breaks down the fibrin that binds clots together. When administered to a patient having an acute ischemic stroke, tPA has been demonstrated to reduce long-term disability.

The hippocampus is the most oxygen-sensitive part of the brain. It is well-known that severe anoxia results in profound neuronal cell death.  Generalized and/or focal brain atrophy most frequently occurs in the hippocampus, the most oxygen-sensitive region of the brain.

A medication error is a preventable event that can cause patient harm. ED medication errors are derived from prescribing, transcribing, preparation, and dispensing.

Speaking generally, when chemical exposures cause medical sequelae, the duration of the claimed exposure is a factor (along with the quantitative extent of exposure and route of absorption) that may be determinative of whether a causal link exists.

Automated dispensing cabinets [ADCs], such as Pyxis systems, are the most widely used medication safety technology.

When patients are admitted to an inpatient service from the ED and no inpatient beds are immediately available for the patient, the patient may spend hours in the ED waiting for the inpatient bed. This is termed ED boarding.

In the ED, appropriate monitoring of seriously ill patients is of utmost importance.

Ketamine is a general anesthetic medication that is used both in the operating room for patients requiring general anesthesia to undergo surgery as well in the ED for sedation for painful procedures.

Keppra is an antiseizure medication that is commonly used to treat patients who have seizures. It is often administered as an IV infusion to patients in the ED after they have a witnessed seizure or, occasionally…

Medication administration safety is critical in all treatment areas but requires additional safeguards in the ED environment, which is sometimes chaotic. There are multiple mechanisms to reduce the risk of medication error in the ED.

By way of general background about physician education and training, medical doctors in the United States receive a degree of either M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine). All are physicians who may be licensed to practice medicine and surgery (and all are “medical doctors”).

Several characteristics of melanoma have been identified and well-studied.  Among the factors studied for primary lesions, the depth of invasion and presence or absence of invasion are most important and are incorporated into the formal American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging criteria.  

Bacterial endocarditis is a dangerous and often life-threatening infectious ailment that must be diagnosed and treated immediately. If left untreated, it will destroy…

Visual field loss (or visual field cut): The visual field is the total area that can be seen while…

Traumatic optic neuropathy (TON): The optic nerve transmits signals between the eyes and…

Relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD or APD): RAPD is a condition in which the left…

Steroid response for elevated intraocular pressure: Intraocular pressure (IOP) is the measurement of…

Commotio retinae (Berlin’s edema): Damage to the retina’s outer layers from a shock wave…