The University Record, April 8, 1998
By Pete Barkey
Health System Public Relations
Doctors on the frontlines now have a new resource to help them treat women in certain emergency cases.
Mark Pearlman, associate professor of surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, has compiled the latest knowledge from top medical experts in the field of emergency medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology. The goal is to help family physicians, as well as emergency medicine doctors, quickly and effectively diagnose and treat emergency gynecologic and obstetric problems.
“We have produced a book that is essentially aimed at first-care providers,” Pearlman says. “Providing information to those individuals who have been placed in the frontline of care will allow women with urgent and emergent problems to receive the best possible care–quickly and accurately.”
The book–conveniently organized by age group and according to signs and symptoms–provides the latest information on a wide range of emergency situations facing girls and women of all ages. The book lays out guidelines for diagnosing and managing problems in pregnancy as well as emergency gynecologic ailments.
“The area of emergency and urgent care of women is new and emerging,” Pearlman says. “Many emergency diseases in women present differently and there is a need for specialists who are trained specifically to deal with these problems. This book is ground-breaking in addressing this area of women’s health care.”
The emergency gynecologic care portion of the book is organized into three sections: pediatric and adolescent patients, women of reproductive age and older women.
There also is an extensive section on diagnosing and treating pregnant and postpartum patients.
“Emergency medicine doctors, family medicine doctors, internists, and often advanced practice nurses have been placed in the role of initial evaluation and management of urgent and emergent medical problems,” Pearlman says. “Often these practitioners have had limited training in this area, and this book is designed to provide quick, accessible and useful information to determine initial diagnostic testing, treatment and when to consult for additional expertise.”
Pearlman is recognized as a national leader in urgent and emergent health care. He also is known for his work as principal investigator in a joint U-M/General Motors Corp. study on the safety of pregnant women in car crashes. Pearlman helped design the auto industry’s first pregnant crash dummy.