Emergency management of acute pain. New options and strategies.

Emergency physicians often encounter patients in pain and may also have to cope with other problems (eg, alcohol intoxication, a patient's stubborn will to drive after the emergency department visit, narcotic "allergy"). Novel approaches can be used to treat these patients. Dr Heller discusses such approaches, including measures for treating patients with drug-seeking behavior (eg, use of nonnarcotic parenteral agents), and describes treatment options for patients with such specific conditions as hypotension, chest pain, and renal colic.