title: High-risk chief complaints II: disorders of the head and neck.
abstract: Of the many different complaints of patients presenting to the emergency department, some of the most difficult to diagnose and manage involve pathology of the head and neck. Often diagnoses of conditions affecting this part of the body are elusive, and occasionally, even once the diagnosis has been made, the management of these disorders remains challenging. This article addresses some of the high-risk chief complaints of the head and neck regarding diagnosis and management. These complaints include headache, seizure, acute focal neurologic deficits, throat and neck pain, ocular emergencies, and the difficult airway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Stroke Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, 175 Cambridge Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02114, USA. lnentwich@partners.org
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nentwich
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ulrich
mesh_terms: D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D004630:Emergencies; D004826:Epiglottitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006261:Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D012308:Risk Management; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology