On Whether the Sickest Patient in the Emergency Department is in the Waiting Room

One common maxim in clinical medicine is that the sickest patient in the emergency department may be in the waiting room (termed: waiting-room maxim). The purpose of this commentary is to discuss five pitfalls related to the waiting-room maxim that can sometimes transform a fundamentally smart idea into a popular misconception. Brevity makes a maxim powerful, yet also creates limitations by leaving out elaboration, logic, and evidence.