D0099 - Corso Elettivo di Medicina di Emergenza Urgenza

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide clinical and organizational skills for the management of patients in the Emergency Department. The focus is on clinical reasoning and on the ability to determine the most appropriate care pathways according to case severity (from emergency to non-urgent conditions).

Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Perform appropriate clinical assessments and recognize warning signs.

• Act with diagnostic and therapeutic appropriateness, avoiding defensive medicine.

• Independently manage less severe conditions and collaborate within multidisciplinary teams.

Diagnostic and therapeutic care pathways (clinical pathways) for the most common emergency conditions will be analyzed, including:

• Chest and abdominal pain: risk stratification and diagnostic work-up.

• Dyspnea: differential diagnosis (cardiac vs respiratory) and oxygen therapy/ventilation techniques.

• Minor trauma: management of fractures, wounds, and immobilization.

• Headache and syncope: differentiation between benign and serious conditions and related diagnostic–therapeutic pathways.

• Infections and fever: management of antibiotic therapy, with a focus on frail and elderly patients.

• Allergic and psychiatric emergencies: management of anaphylaxis and psychomotor agitation.

• Social aspects: recognition and management of cases of violence and abuse.

Course contents

Chest Pain: Recognition of suspected acute coronary syndromes, identification of patients requiring direct transfer to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, risk stratification, and management of patients requiring urgent diagnostic evaluation. Diagnostic pathways for intermediate-risk patients and rule-out strategies for low-risk presentations.

Abdominal Pain: Diagnostic assessment and identification of the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic pathway using a clinical reasoning approach based on the distinction between emergency, urgent, minor urgent, and non-urgent conditions.

Dyspnea: Assessment of respiratory distress with differential diagnosis of the main respiratory (e.g., asthma, COPD, pneumonia) and cardiovascular causes (e.g., heart failure, pulmonary embolism). Principles of oxygen therapy, bronchodilator treatment, corticosteroid therapy, and non-invasive ventilation.

Minor Trauma: Management of contusions, sprains, superficial wounds, and limb fractures. Principles of immobilization, indications for diagnostic imaging, pain management, and outpatient follow-up.

Acute Headache: Clinical assessment and recognition of life-threatening versus benign headache syndromes. Diagnostic work-up, first-line pharmacological treatment, and clinical management pathways.

Fever and Common Infections: Evaluation of fever in adults, older adults, and frail patients. Differentiation between uncomplicated and severe infections. Selection and management of antibiotic therapy for common community-acquired respiratory, urinary tract, and skin infections. Diagnostic approach to fever of unknown origin.

Syncope: Diagnostic assessment and risk stratification using evidence-based clinical pathways. Application of bedside clinical tests and appropriate diagnostic algorithms.

Allergic Reactions: Clinical assessment and management pathways for low- and high-risk allergic reactions. Early recognition of anaphylaxis, adrenaline administration protocols, use of antihistamines and corticosteroids, and strategies for follow-up and prevention.

Psychomotor Agitation: Initial assessment, differential diagnosis, and diagnostic criteria. Management of acute presentations, including anxiety crises, panic attacks, mood disorders, and schizoaffective episodes. Effective communication strategies, use of emergency medications, and activation of multidisciplinary community mental health services.

Violence and Abuse: Recognition, assessment, documentation, safeguarding, and multidisciplinary management of patients exposed to violence or abuse, including appropriate referral and protection pathways.

Teaching methods

• Interactive lectures based on real clinical cases.

• Practical simulations of emergency management and care pathway organization.

• Small-group clinical case discussions and problem-solving sessions.

• Role-playing sessions focused on doctor–patient communication and relationship management.

Assessment methods

Written examination consisting of multiple-choice questions and multiple-choice clinical case scenarios.

Office hours

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