https://medicalxpress.com/emergency-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Emergency medicine People with a history of criminal legal involvement have higher odds of visiting an emergency department (ED), particularly for substance use and mental health reasons, according to a study published in PLOS One by Vidya Eswaran of Washington University in St. Louis, U.S., and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-people-current-criminal-legal-involvement.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:00:17 EDT news702700943 Treating pain while in the field can be very demanding. Researchers have finally identified an effective alternative for providing pain relief during the earliest phase of prehospital care, when establishing intravenous access can be difficult. The study is published in The Lancet journal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-inhaled-analgesia-effective-morphine-early.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:00:05 EDT news702213241 Two independent AI models that can assist with multiple stages of patient management, from diagnosis to treatment decisions, are presented in Nature this week. The systems—MIRA (Medical Intelligence for Reasoning and Action) and Google's AMIE (Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer)—perform at least as well as physicians, demonstrating the potential for conversational AI tools to help with disease management. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-medical-ais-diagnosis-treatment-decisions.html Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:20:10 EDT news700999727 A University of California, Riverside-led study of more than 3,200 emergency department (ED) patients across the United States found that while awareness of influenza vaccination is widespread, most adults seen in EDs are not up to date on their annual flu vaccine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-emergency-department-major-gaps-flu.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:20:07 EDT news700920901 Artificial intelligence can help predict a patient's risk for conditions such as sepsis, heart disease and cancer. But many of these tools fall short in real-life clinical practice because they are difficult for doctors to interpret and trust. Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a new way to use AI to build clinical prediction tools that combines the speed of artificial intelligence with the judgment of human experts. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ai-framework-doctors-tools.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:20:04 EDT news700902181 A randomized clinical trial conducted across five countries in 47 pediatric emergency departments, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, established that both commonly used IV fluids for treating septic shock—balanced crystalloid fluid and 0.9% saline—are equally safe and effective. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-common-iv-fluids-equally-septic.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:40:03 EDT news699879721 Researchers at Monash University and The Alfred are pioneering a method of analyzing blood samples to diagnose concussion in people aged over 60, the world's most at-risk group for the condition. Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a significant and escalating public health problem, and older adults experience the highest rates related to hospitalizations and deaths. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-samples-uncover-concussion-older.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:40:08 EDT news699531961 A new study by emergency medicine researchers at UC Davis Health set out to assess the effects of naloxone administration by first responders treating patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OA-OHCA). The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found naloxone administration during resuscitation by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel was associated with improved outcomes in patients with suspected OA-OHCA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-naloxone-cardiac-linked-survival.html Fri, 29 May 2026 14:20:01 EDT news699280441 Pulse oximeter devices routinely overestimate blood oxygen levels in darker-skinned patients—a racial bias that can trigger downstream health harms for Black individuals, compounding well beyond any single inaccurate reading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-pulse-oximeter-bias-linked-gaps.html Mon, 25 May 2026 11:20:02 EDT news698925541 The overall death rate of children and adolescents in the United States increased 6.6% between 2020 and 2023, researchers reported on May 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Many of the top causes of death in young people—including firearms, car accidents, and poisoning—lead to injuries that are treated in emergency departments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-child-death-states.html Thu, 21 May 2026 17:00:03 EDT news698588281 Giving whole blood or the component parts of blood are equally effective options for paramedics and emergency medical technicians to use in treating patients with severe, traumatic bleeding before arriving at the hospital, according to a large, nationwide trial directed by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC clinicians and scientists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-prehospital-trauma-flexible-option-blood.html Mon, 18 May 2026 15:10:02 EDT news698325241 A new study from scientists at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and other institutions, demonstrates that an artificial intelligence-powered CPR coaching agent can outperform 911 dispatchers in guiding bystanders through cardiopulmonary resuscitation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-powered-cpr-outperforms-dispatchers.html Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:08 EDT news698056769