Chest Pain
This is the first diagnostic test you should obtain within 10 minutes for suspected ACS.
What is an ECG?
The initial bedside test to assess oxygenation status in a dyspneic patient.
What is pulse oximetry?
The most common cause of vertigo characterized by brief episodes with head movement.
What is BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo)?
The most common cause of wheezing in hospitalized adults. (2)
What is asthma or COPD exacerbation?
The most important initial management step in most cases of acute diarrhea.
What is fluid rehydration?
This scoring system helps risk-stratify chest pain patients for major adverse cardiac events.
What is the HEART score?
Elevated BNP supports the diagnosis of this cause of dyspnea.
What is heart failure?
This bedside maneuver is used to diagnose BPPV.
What is the Dix-Hallpike maneuver?
A sudden onset of wheezing and dyspnea after allergen exposure suggests this condition.
What is anaphylaxis?
This bacterium is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
What is Clostridioides difficile?
Initial medical therapy for suspected ACS includes aspirin and this anticoagulant often started in the ED.
What is heparin?
First-line treatment for acute pulmonary edema includes this class of medication to reduce preload.
What are diuretics (e.g., furosemide)?
The treatment maneuver for posterior canal BPPV.
What is the Epley maneuver?
This medication is added early in moderate to severe asthma exacerbations to reduce inflammation.
What are systemic corticosteroids?
This stool test detects C. difficile toxin genes.
What is PCR testing?
A widened mediastinum on chest X-ray with tearing chest pain suggests this life-threatening condition.
What is aortic dissection?
The imaging modality of choice for suspected pulmonary embolism in stable patients.
What is CT pulmonary angiography?
This triad (ataxia, ophthalmoplegia, confusion) should prompt treatment with this vitamin.
What is thiamine? (Wernicke encephalopathy)
This diagnosis should be considered in a patient with unilateral wheezing and sudden onset.
What is foreign body aspiration?
In a hospitalized patient with inflammatory diarrhea (fever, positive fecal leukocytes), this stool marker helps differentiate inflammatory from non-inflammatory causes.
What is fecal calprotectin?
In inferior STEMI, you should avoid nitrates if this complication is present.
What is right ventricular infarction?
This bedside ultrasound finding suggests pneumothorax when absent.
What is lung sliding?
A normal head impulse test in acute vertigo raises concern for this central cause.
What is stroke?
Persistent wheezing that does not improve with bronchodilators in a patient with weight loss and hemoptysis should raise concern for this diagnosis.
What is an endobronchial tumor (e.g., lung cancer)?
This condition should be suspected in chronic diarrhea with weight loss and iron deficiency anemia.
What is celiac disease?