Toxicologic and Environmental Emergencies

The typical situation of an anaphylactic emergency: as an emergency physician you are called to a child who was stung by a wasp while playing in a swimming pool. When you arrive, the little patient is barely conscious, the skin is red and covered with welts. The carotid pulse is barely palpable. The connected ECG shows a tachycardia of 180/min. In addition, you recognize a strong wheezing and humming in all lung sections. The diagnosis of anaphylactic shock is made quickly. But how do you react properly in this situation? And what are the causes of this disease? Answers can be found here.

Drowning is defined as the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in a liquid. Submersion happens when the person’s airway goes below the surface of a liquid, whereas, immersion is a mechanism of drowning that involves water splashing over the face. In this article, you will gain an overview of drowning and learn more about the pathophysiology and in-water resuscitation for the perfect emergency medicine preparation.

Injuries due to cold weather are common among children and athletes who are involved in exercises and sports that are usually played in extremely cold conditions. Frostbite is defined as a direct freezing injury to the peripheral tissues and occurs when the skin temperature drops below -0.5 C. Common sites of frostbite including the nose, ears, fingers, and toes. These regions of the human body are far from the body’s core and are more likely to undergo vasoconstriction if they become too cold. Hypothermia can be defined as a drop in the core body temperature below 35 C. In this article, we will discuss the prevention and management of hypothermia and frostbite injury.