Eric A. Weiss, MD, Editor Douglas G. Sward, MD, Editor Wilderness medicine is a rapidly growing discipline that is becoming increasingly more significant in today’s era of globalization, international travel,…

EMERGENCY MEDICINE CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA www.emed.theclinics.com Consulting Editor AMAL MATTU May 2017 • Volume 35 • Number 2

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…

ED observation units (EDOUs) are designed for patients who require diagnostics or therapeutics beyond the initial ED visit to determine the need for hospital admission. Best evidence is that this…

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…

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…

Infectious conditions such as skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), Urogenital infections and peritonsillar abscesses frequently require care beyond emergency stabilization and are well-suited for short term care in an…

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…

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…

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…