title: Respiratory pearls, pitfalls, and updates.
abstract: The scope of respiratory and ventilatory support offered in the emergency department (ED) has expanded substantially in the last 10 years. Emergency physicians are now much more aggressive and sophisticated in their management of bronchospasm, pulmonary edema, and acute respiratory failure. New medications and new technologies that have been tested in intensive care units should also be considered appropriate for use in the ED; indeed, from a respiratory support standpoint, the ED should be viewed as an intensive care unit. In this article, the authors outline these new concepts and treatments that allow initiation of "intensive care" in the ED.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Fermann
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D006801:Humans; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012138:Respiratory Therapy; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D012151:Resuscitation
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents