Care of Special Populations in an Observation Unit
Infants and children and the elderly comprise a large and growing (especially the elderly) segment of the US population. The benefits of observation medicine have been documented in these two…
Care of Traumatic Conditions in an Observation Unit
Patients presenting to the emergency department with certain traumatic conditions can be managed in observation units. The evidence base supporting the use of observation units to manage injured patients is…
Care of Respiratory Conditions in an Observation Unit
In adults, respiratory disorders are the second most frequent diagnoses treated in emergency department observation units (EDOUs) and account for the most frequent indication for placement of pediatric patients into…
Care of Neurologic Conditions in an Observation Unit
As a group, neurologic conditions represent a substantial portion of emergency department (ED) visits. Cerebrovascular disease, headache, vertigo and seizures are all common reasons for patients to seek care in…
Care of Metabolic and Endocrine Conditions in the Observation Unit
Accelerated therapeutic protocols targeting metabolic conditions are ideal for observation unit care. Because many conditions, such as hypokalemia and hyperglycemia, have little to no diagnostic uncertainty, the care in the…
Care of Acute Gastrointestinal Conditions in the Observation Unit
The Emergency Department Observation Unit (EDOU) provides a viable alternative to inpatient admission for the management of many acute gastrointestinal conditions with additional opportunities of reducing resource utilization and reducing…
Cardiovascular Conditions in the Observation Unit
The first emergency department observation units (EDOUs) focused on chest pain and potential acute coronary syndromes. However, most EDOUs now cover multiple other conditions that lend themselves to protocolized, aggressive…
The Establishment and Management of an Observation Unit
The current health care landscape and evidence support the establishment of observation units (OUs) for safe and efficient care for observation patients. Careful attention is required in the design of…
History, Principles, and Policies of Observation Medicine
The history of observation medicine has paralleled the rise of emergency medicine over the past 50 years to meet the needs of patients, emergency departments, hospitals, and the US health care…
Observation Medicine
Amal Mattu, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, Consulting Editor In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changin’.” I recall a time earlier in my career when we were…
