https://medicalxpress.com/emergency-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Emergency medicine When a patient is admitted to a hospital emergency room with a life-threatening medical condition, the first order of business is to get that patient to a stable state. After that happens, it is standard medical practice for doctors to initiate what's known as a serious illness conversation, which gives both the physician and patient an opportunity to discuss goals of care, treatment and end-of-life wishes before a medical crisis makes those conversations impossible. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ai-doctors-difficult-conversations-critically.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 07:00:01 EDT news703920661 Cannabis beverages are increasingly turning up in stores next to iced tea, sodas and even chocolate milk, and doctors warn that easy access is putting kids at risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-cannabis-sold-soda-kids-er.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:20:01 EDT news703868992 Parents are helping prevent harm to children in hospital emergency departments, according to new study. Researchers from PRIME Center Wales, Cardiff University, with collaborators at the University Hospital of Wales and the University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, reviewed 4,000 patient safety incident reports involving children who attended emergency departments. Of the 658 incidents that involved parental participation, 90% described parents helping to prevent, identify or reduce harm to their child. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-parents-key-partners-pediatric-emergency.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:40:06 EDT news703853102 A new UCLA Health study examining more than 1.5 million emergency department (ED) visits found that female physicians request more imaging and laboratory tests and admit more patients to the hospital than their male counterparts working alongside them. But the added testing was just as likely to uncover important findings, suggesting the additional care may have been clinically appropriate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-female-er-physicians-patients-male.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:00:01 EDT news703832101 In 2023, nearly 51 million people were injured and 1.34 million died from road injuries, making road injuries one of the leading global causes of premature death and disability, according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-world-road-injuries-death-young.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:30:01 EDT news703755781 Emergency nurses across Australia are experiencing a hidden form of psychological harm that experts say is contributing to burnout, workforce shortages and affecting patient care. New research led by Murdoch University lecturer and Ph.D. candidate Clare Walters in the School of Nursing at Murdoch University has found that many emergency nurses experience moral distress—the emotional impact of knowing the right thing to do for a patient but being unable to provide that care because of factors beyond their control. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hidden-invisible-burden-emergency-nurses.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news703771562 The pendulum may have swung too far in the direction of caution when it comes to limiting opioids for adolescents who are in pain, according to new research from a University of Alberta emergency medicine team published in Pediatrics. The investigators examined a long-held belief by clinicians and parents that an opioid prescription for pain from a torn muscle or broken limb could put a teenager at higher risk for future opioid-related harms such as overdose or addiction. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-er-opioid-prescriptions-significant-drivers.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:40:02 EDT news703760997 From the emergency department (ED) to the intensive care unit (ICU), a clear, collaborative admission process at a Tennessee hospital cut in half the time newly admitted critically ill patients waited to receive specialized care, even as they waited in the ED for an ICU bed to become available. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-collaborative-icu-admissions-ed.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:20:03 EDT news703339921 How a cancer is first discovered can shape what happens next, and new research shows a need to map treatment for older adults diagnosed in the emergency department who face sharply lower survival. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-emergency-cancer-linked-significantly-survival.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:20:03 EDT news703338481 Making triage decisions in a busy emergency room is tough enough; making triage decisions based on a hurried call with emergency medical staff responding at the scene of an accident is all the more challenging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-trauma-triage-ai-accuracy.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:00:03 EDT news703155001 HBO's emergency-department drama "The Pitt" has become a smash hit in large part because it shows the deeply human toll that emergency medicine exacts on those who practice it. While researchers have long known that real-life ER doctors are affected by many of the stresses that "The Pitt" has so effectively captured. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-emergency-doctors-stressed-patient-plays.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:20:01 EDT news702888148 From 2021 to 2025, the overall proportion of emergency department (ED) visits for suspected suicide attempts among all ED visits for any reason decreased, with the largest declines seen among adolescents and females, according to research published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-proportion-ed-suicide.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news702802014 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 When a child is experiencing a mental health crisis, families increasingly turn to the emergency department for help. While hospitals across Illinois are making progress in caring for these children, they face significant challenges, especially limited access to specialists and long waits for psychiatric care, according to a survey of Illinois emergency departments published in the Journal of American College of Emergency Physicians Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-emergency-departments-illinois-gaps-children.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news702638662 A new study led by the University of Sheffield and published in BMJ Open has found that up to one-third of A&E attendances and two-fifths of acute admissions could potentially be managed through same-day emergency care (SDEC) and community settings—keeping patients safe and treated without an overnight hospital stay. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-reveals-day-ease-nhs-emergency.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:40:01 EDT news702543038 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 A heat dome is expected to scorch most of the United States through the July 4 weekend, sending temperatures into the high double and even triple digits in the central and eastern regions of the nation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-dome-stay-safe-extreme-temps.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 18:00:01 EDT news702139185 For 40 years, U.S. emergency departments have been barred from turning away patients who cannot pay. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-year-law-requires-ers-opt.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:00:02 EDT news702053797 As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4, festivities are expected to be bigger and brighter, with more fireworks lighting up the sky. But excitement surrounding this milestone also brings increased safety risks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-qa-july-safety-fingers.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:40:02 EDT news702045362 Many have fireworks, cookouts and family get-togethers planned for the Fourth of July, but these activities can pose a burn risk for young children, experts warn. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-fourth-july-poses-hazards-kids.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:40:08 EDT news701939537 A recently released child-safety battery designed to reduce the danger from accidental ingestion is showing significant promise, but medical professionals should not alter their management protocols yet. In the first peer-reviewed scientific assessment of the recently commercialized Energizer Ultimate Child Shield, researchers found that the titanium-based lithium coin-cell battery, designed to protect the esophagus, can reduce the severity of tissue injury. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-button-battery-technology-swallowing-emergency.html Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:30:01 EDT news701440123 Patients with severe injuries from car crashes are about 70% less likely to be transferred to another hospital in states with no-fault insurance laws than in states with more common at-fault policies, reports a new study led by Northwestern Medicine. The findings suggest that policies such as no-fault laws—which guarantee reimbursement for trauma care—may incentivize hospitals to keep and treat seriously injured patients. The work is published in the journal Injury. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-victims-hospitals-fault-states.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:00:10 EDT news701623501 In a new clinical study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers and physicians at UC San Diego Health have found that by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), they could develop more timely and efficient assessments of care provided to patients with severe sepsis in the emergency department. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-leveraging-ai-resources-physicians-approach.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:00:05 EDT news701619361 In the hours following sexual assault, teens may face difficult decisions about seeking medical care and whether to undergo a forensic exam that could support a future investigation or prosecution. Understanding their ability to consent to these services can be complicated, as laws vary widely from state to state. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-state-laws-vary-widely-adolescent.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:10:01 EDT news701448722 New research examining almost 4,700 e-scooter-related emergency department presentations in the state of Victoria found injuries among children ages 2 to 14 rose from 64 cases in 2022 to 263 in 2025, even though children younger than 16 are prohibited from riding e-scooters on roads. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-scooter-injuries-toll-hospitals.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 08:00:03 EDT news701328782 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved another over-the-counter intranasal naloxone product, Rextovy (naloxone hydrochloride), for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose. The nonprescription approval was granted to Amphastar Pharmaceuticals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-fda-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray.html Fri, 19 Jun 2026 20:00:02 EDT news701074853 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 After an episode of the popular TV medical drama "The Pitt" included a character from Freedom House Ambulance Service—the nation's first emergency medical service, which was staffed entirely by African Americans—awareness of these long-overlooked pioneers in prehospital care surged. That's according to a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and published in American Journal of Health Promotion. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-awareness-freedom-house-ambulance-historically.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:40:03 EDT news700914583 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