# The Chief Complaint

> Emergency medicine guide

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/id969426649](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id969426649)

## Overview

- **ID:** `id969426649`
- **Platform:** Apple
- **Type:** Apple app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Escavo, Inc
- **Category:** Education
- **Rating:** 4.80 / 5 (653 ratings)
- **Version:** 4.0
- **Last updated:** 2023-10-13
- **First published:** 2015-06-13
- **Size:** 157 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-19
- **Store listing:** [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-chief-complaint/id969426649)
- **Website:** [http://www.escavo.com](http://www.escavo.com/)
- **Privacy policy:** [http://www.escavo.com/privacy-policy](http://www.escavo.com/privacy-policy)

## Description

The Chief Complaint is an algorithm-based emergency medicine guide that helps clinicians work through 50+ common ED presentations with a built-in, offline reference. It features color-coded organ-system navigation, more than 60 decision-support algorithms, and exhaustive references with direct PubMed links. The resource includes subject-specific links to EM:RAP, Essentials of Emergency Medicine, and theNNT.com, journal club, peer-reviewed content, medical calculators, and a built-in drug guide. All content is built-in; network access is only required for updates, and automatic updates keep you current.

Version 4.0 adds the ESCAVO Clinical Community—a forum for clinicians to ask questions and collaborate on sepsis and other topics. This makes it easy to exchange ideas, review evidence, and learn at the bedside. The Chief Complaint is designed for doctors, residents, medical students, nurses, and other emergency medicine professionals and is used by the LA County + USC EM residency program, reflecting its real-world relevance.

## Rankings

- #64,676 — Overall

## Review summary

Reviewers praise the app for being comprehensive and algorithmic, aiding differential diagnosis and clinical reasoning across EMS, ED, urgent care, and rural settings. It’s easy to use, concise, and evidence-based. The main drawbacks are poor iPad landscape support, outdated content in places, and occasional bugs like bookmark crashes. Overall, it’s a highly useful educational and clinical tool with room for UI and content updates.

### Pros

- Comprehensive and thorough with an algorithmic, stepwise approach to diagnostics and management.
- Enhances differential diagnosis and clinical reasoning across EMS, ED, urgent care, and rural settings.
- Easy to use and intuitive with straightforward navigation.
- Evidence-based, concise, high-yield content.
- Free educational resource with broad topic coverage.

### Cons

- Lacks full iPad landscape support, hindering use on iPads.
- Some information feels outdated and needs updating.
- Occasional bugs, such as bookmark deletion crashes.

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id969426649)