Emergency Medicine Case-Based Guide 2024

Case studies are a great instructive way for clinicians to prepare for their own
similar encounters with some familiarity based on someone else’s experiences.
Each case describes the background of a patient and clues needed to make an
appropriate diagnosis. As some of the preeminent diagnosticians in the house of
medicine, it is especially important for those practicing in the emergency setting
to properly identify potentially life-threatening emergencies in a timely fashion.
This book contains contributions from skilled physicians specially trained in
emergency medicine and/or pediatric medicine. It is structured into three major sections: early pregnancy emergencies, late pregnancy emergencies, and neonatal
emergencies. Each chapter presents a true-to-life case based on expert experiences.
These are the experiences of my esteemed colleagues around the United States of
America (USA). These experiences will help give depth to the various ways “can’t
miss” diagnoses are made and how they can be best managed. These authors have
also provided tips and tricks to help uncover a diagnosis and to manage an obstetric
emergency even with limited resources.
There are approximately 700 women who die annually in the USA due to pregnancy or its complications. These deaths include during gestation, during labor and
delivery, and within the first year postpartum. Furthermore, there are welldocumented racial disparities (particularly affecting Black, American Indian, and
Alaska Native women) which have persisted for decades affecting maternal and
infant health despite numerous advances in medical care. Fortunately, about 80% of
pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
Many obstetric emergencies are rare in their presentation frequency to the emergency department. Though in many situations, obstetric emergencies are directly
managed by obstetricians and gynecologists. This book is meant for people who are
not obstetricians or gynecologists; people who have a different cognitive skillset and
different set of resources. Emergency physicians have a role to play in decreasing the
disparities associated with obstetric outcomes and they can improve the outcomes of
mothers and babies in the USA. My hope is that this book edifies and empowers
emergency physicians in their care of this potentially vulnerable patient population.
My humblest thanks to my collaborators. I am very proud to have completed this
labor of love. I am looking forward to doing this again soon!