Emergency Medicine
Rapid assessment scores, trauma evaluation, and emergency decision rules.
CURB-65 Score
Predicts mortality in community-acquired pneumonia.
Revised Trauma Score
Physiologic scoring system for trauma patients.
HEART Score
Risk stratification for chest pain.
SOFA / qSOFA
Sepsis screening and organ dysfunction.
Canadian CT Head Rule
Need for CT in minor head injury.
NEXUS Criteria
C-spine imaging decision rule.
Clinical Overview
Emergency medicine relies on validated clinical decision rules to risk-stratify patients, guide imaging decisions, and standardize trauma assessments in high-pressure environments.
Common Use Cases
- •Trauma severity scoring
- •Pneumonia risk stratification
- •Sepsis identification
- •Clinical decision rules for imaging
Clinical Pearls
CURB-65 Application
A CURB-65 score of 0-1 indicates outpatient management, 2 indicates short-stay or ward admission, and 3-5 indicates severe pneumonia often requiring ICU care.
NEXUS vs Canadian C-Spine
While both are validated, the Canadian C-Spine Rule has been shown to be slightly more sensitive and specific than NEXUS, but NEXUS is often considered easier to remember and apply.