emDocs - November 13, 2016 - Authors: Brubaker S and Long B
Edited by: Robertson J and Koyfman A
"This is the first of a two-part series on surgical emergencies. This series discusses “cannot miss” diagnoses that require immediate, or at least emergent, surgical intervention.
- ECTOPIC PREGNANCY
- RUPTURED AAA
- NON-TRAUMATIC THORACIC AORTIC DISSECTION
Summary
There are several disease processes that cannot be missed in the ED. A number of them require emergency surgery, and an even smaller percentage require time-sensitive surgery. The diseases discussed in this post include ruptured ectopic pregnancy, AAA, and aortic dissection. More disease processes will be covered in a future post. You must maintain a high index of suspicion for these diseases, as delay in treatment can lead to substantial increases in morbidity and mortality. In all of these disease processes, hemodynamic instability = emergent surgical consultulation"