#emergency-medicine

#emergency-medicine

Carbon monoxide is a quiet assassin. Odorless and colorless, it has a uniquely efficient ability to starve the body of oxygen: It acts quickly, building up in the bloodstream and attaching to hemoglobin in oxygen's place. When oxygen can't attach, red blood cells don't transport it around the body, effectively suffocating the organs. This gas, a common by-product of incomplete fuel combustion, causes 50,000 to 100,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Sam Sears described his experience in Gaza as a "conveyor belt of carnage", highlighting the relentless influx of patients suffering from blast, shrapnel, and gunshot wounds. Upon arrival, he encountered a mass casualty incident involving two deceased children, ages nine and eleven. Reflecting on the heartbreaking moment of putting these children in body bags, he noted that the rapid pace of emergency situations often stripped away the dignity these young victims would normally be afforded. The sheer volume of casualties necessitated a focus on saving those who could still be helped.

"I've come to realize that healing isn't just about fixing bodies. It's about being present with people when they're scared, hurting, or confused," Chris says.

It's one of those beautiful and subversive works that comes together right when it's needed, offering another way of organizing society - egalitarian yet hierarchical.

Polineni emphasizes the need for emergency departments to leverage AI-driven decision support systems, which can analyze real-time data for effective triage and proactive care.

I was a very new intern, working in the ED. I got asked to see a young woman patient and the diagnosis put beside her name by triage staff said 'SELF HARM.'

Extreme heat events increase the risk of contact burns from hot surfaces in the environment.