In 2025, the CU Anschutz Department of Emergency Medicine newsroom published stories that captured the breadth and urgency of work across our clinical, research, and educational missions. From large-scale, federally funded clinical trials to disaster preparedness, mental health research, and emerging approaches to patient care, these stories reflect the expertise and dedication of our faculty, trainees, and partners. As the year comes to a close, we’re highlighting the top 10 most-viewed stories that resonated most with readers and defined Emergency Medicine in 2025.
Take a look back at our top stories from 2025.
CU researchers emphasize the growing need to understand the psychological toll emergency response takes on EMS, fire, and police personnel. Experts at the CU Center for COMBAT Research highlight how solutions-focused, data-driven research can inform effective mental health support, reduce stigma, and strengthen care for both first responders and the communities they serve.
→ Action-oriented research on first responder mental health
A two-year, multisite project led by Adit Ginde, MD, of the CU Department of Emergency Medicine will evaluate ways to ‘free up the hands and minds of providers’ for crucial care in emergencies. Funded by a $4.7 million Department of Defense grant, the AURORA study will test whether an automated oxygen-delivery system can safely manage oxygen titration for patients during ground and air medical transport.
→ Automated oxygen delivery to improve care during emergency transport
One of the largest clinical trial grants in CU Anschutz history, the $28.9 million EFFECT trial will evaluate whether early replacement of fibrinogen with Fibryga can stop life-threatening bleeding faster and reduce the need for blood transfusions in severely injured patients — a leading cause of preventable death after trauma. This multicenter effort could transform trauma care practices nationwide and inform both civilian and military treatment protocols.
→ Fibrinogen replacement in trauma to improve outcomes
A major drill brought together hundreds of responders, students, and volunteers to simulate a complex mass-casualty disaster and test real-world emergency response procedures. The exercise, led by Jessica Ryder, MD, and emergency preparedness leaders at UCHealth and CU Anschutz, recreated a helicopter crash into a campus festival and challenged EMS, fire, police, campus teams, and hospital staff to practice triage, communication, and surge care in a high-stress but safe environment.
→ Massive disaster simulation tests emergency systems
Researchers from the CU Department of Emergency Medicine, led by Joseph Brown, MD, Cody McIlvain, MD, and Ethan Coit, MD, found that emergency physicians – not anesthesiologists – now perform the majority of endotracheal intubations for adult and pediatric trauma patients at academic centers across the country. Although a small number of hospitals still rely primarily on anesthesiologists, the study suggests that expanding emergency physicians' responsibility for airway management could better align with current evidence and practice trends in trauma care.
→ Emergency physicians now lead most trauma airway management
Acetaminophen poisoning accounts for about 56,000 emergency-room visits and thousands of hospitalizations every year in the United States, with overdose now a leading cause of acute liver failure, according to Kennon Heard, MD, PhD, a CU Emergency Medicine toxicology expert. Heard is helping lead a multiyear clinical trial testing whether adding the antidote fomepizole to standard treatment can better protect the liver in severe cases, while also reminding the public to use acetaminophen products carefully and read labels to avoid accidental overdoses.
→ Improved treatment for dangerous acetaminophen overdoses
A project led by the CU Department of Emergency Medicine turns a conference hotel into a hospital and shows how a patient surge could be handled in a crisis. As part of the Hotel2Hospital initiative, teams transformed portions of the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center into a fully equipped prototype hospital with ICU and med-surg capacity, testing workflows, infrastructure, and clinical systems in a real-world environment. Supported by a Department of Defense grant, the work is building a blueprint to rapidly create alternative care facilities during disasters, pandemics, or mass-casualty events.
→ Prototype offers blueprint to expand care capacity in a crisis
A group of clinicians, therapists, and researchers at CU’s Marcus Institute for Brain Health are on the front lines of treating military personnel and veterans for psychological conditions and brain injuries. The institute’s interdisciplinary, holistic care program combines conventional medical treatments with complementary therapies such as neuro-physical therapy, cognitive and speech-language therapy, counseling, and art or equine therapy to help veterans, service members, and first responders recover from traumatic brain injuries that can be difficult to diagnose and treat effectively.
→ Holistic, interdisciplinary care is improving recovery from traumatic brain injuries
Venomous snake encounters often increase after wet springs in Colorado, so we asked Kennon Heard, MD, a medical toxicology expert, to explain the range of symptoms and complications from rattlesnake bites, from local pain and swelling to rare allergic reactions and shock. Heard emphasizes the importance of seeking prompt emergency care, explains how antivenom works, and dispels common myths about outdated first-aid techniques, so readers know when to go to the ER and what to expect during treatment.
→ What to know about venomous snakebites
Seven students in the inaugural MD/MS dual-degree program—a collaboration between the CU School of Medicine and the Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences—are beginning their final year of medical school while completing a master’s in aerospace engineering with a bioastronautics emphasis as they prepare for careers at the intersection of human health and spaceflight. The five-year curriculum combines rigorous medical and engineering training, hands-on simulations, and mentorship opportunities with organizations such as NASA and commercial spaceflight partners, aiming to develop clinicians and innovators ready to tackle human health challenges in extreme environments.