What do you think of with the patient presenting with fever, headache, and focal neurologic signs? Meningitis? Encephalitis? What about brain abscess? This post is filled with pearls and pitfalls on the pathogenesis, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of brain abscess.
Every provider has their own twist on the standard "headache cocktail", but what is the evidence behind the individual medications for headache management? What about treating headaches in the pregnant or pediatric patient? This post seeks to answer these questions and more.
The transient ischemic attack (TIA) places patients at high risk for future stroke. This article reviews the current literature on the diagnosis, management and disposition of patients with TIA. The use of observation and TIA clinics is also discussed.
The pediatric patient with seizure, or is it really a seizure? A host of other conditions can look just like seizure. This Peds EM Morsel provides you with some answers.
Dizziness is a common chief complaint with a large differential ranging from benign to a life-threatening bleed. How should you approach the patient with dizziness, and what do you need to consider?
A stroke mimic is defined as a nonvascular disease that presents with stroke-like symptoms, often indistinguishable from an actual stroke. Why does it matter if a mimic is diagnosed as a stroke? Learn the pearls and pitfalls of stroke mimics.
Weakness is a challenging chief complaint. Always consider the common etiologies such as urinary tract infections. However, debilitating spinal cord pathology and other rare causes of weakness should be ruled out in otherwise negative work ups.
What do you do with the seizing patient? What tests and medications are warranted?
