Tips in emergency medicine.

1. As little as 2 weeks of chronic steroid use (prednisone . 20 mg/day) will cause
adrenal suppression, making a patient more prone to adrenal crisis.

2. Follow potassium closely when treating patients with insulin.

3.Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a harbinger of early acute stroke (up to 10% in first

48 hours).

4.Obtain a CT scan of the head on any patient on warfarin (Coumadin) with even a

minor head trauma.

5.Always exclude associated fractures of the spine and lower extremities in patients with

calcaneal fractures.