Australian Author/Publication

Excellent handbook brought up-to-date to cover the latest evidence-based guidelines in both emergency and acute medicine.

Provides clear and succinct guidance for those needing to make rapid and precise decisions in high-volume patient environments, and includes such new concerns as SARS, bird influenza and both biological and chemical threats.

Recommended resource for new doctors and especially for young interns.

• Covers every emergency from the major & life-threatening to the more frequent minor complaint
• Evidence-based and up-to-date
• Presents the essentials of diagnosis and management concisely and clearly
• Covers exact drug dosage information, intravenous fluid orders and all relevant practical procedures
• Also considers patient disposition and its urgency, and inpatient, outpatient and community care
• Ideal for heat-of-the-moment decision making in emergency and acute medicine

Table of Contents:

Section I. GENERAL MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
• Chest Pain
• Cardiac Arrhythmias
• The Breathless Patient
• Upper Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage
• Diabetic coma and precoma
• The Patient with an Altered Conscious Level
• Acute Neurological Conditions
• Headache
• Acute Arthropathy
• Allergic or Immunological Conditions
• Skin Disorders
• The Elderly Patient
• Further Reading

Section 2. ACID-BASE, ELECTROLYTE AND RENAL EMERGENCIES

• Acid-base Disturbances
• Electrolyte Disorders
• Potassium disorders
• Sodium disorders
• Calcium disorders
• Magnesium disorders
• Acute Renal Failure
• Further Reading

Section 3. INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND FOREIGN TRAVEL EMERGENCIES

• Febrile Neutropenic Patient
• Hepatitis
• Gastrointestinal Tract Infection
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection
• Needlestick and sharps incidents
• Common Imported Diseases of Travellers
• Pandemics Threats
• Further Reading

Section 4. TOXICOLOGY

• Acute Poisoning: General Principles
• Specific Poisons
• Chemical Burns
• Further Reading

Section 5 . TOXINOLOGY EMERGENCIES

• Snake Bites
• Spider Envenomation
• Marine Envenomation
• Bee and Wasp Stings
• Further Reading

Section 6. ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES

• Heat, Cold and Drowning
• Sports Diving Accidents
• Electrical Burns, Electrocution and Lightning Strike
• Further Reading

Section 7. SURGICAL EMERGENCIES

• Multiple Injuries
• Head and Facial Injuries
• Neck Injuries
• Chest Injuries
• Abdominal and Pelvic Trauma
• Additional Orthopaedic Injuries in Multiple Trauma
• Head Injury
• Burns
• The Acute Abdomen
• Further Reading

Section 8. ORTHOPAEDIC EMERGENCIES

• Injuries to Shoulder and Upper Arm
• Injuries to the Elbow and Forearm
• Injuries to the Wrist and Hand
• Cervical Spine Injuries
• Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Injuries
• Pelvic Injuries
• Injuries to the Hip and Upper Femur
• Injuries to the Lower Femur, Knee and Upper Tibia
• Injuries to the Lower Tibia, Ankle and Foot
• Further Reading

Section 9. MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SOFT TISSUE EMERGENCIES

• Soft-tissue Injuries
• Non-articular Rheumatism
• Back Pain
• Further Reading

Section 10. PAEDIATRIC EMERGENCIES

• General Assessment
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
• Breathless Child
• Stridor
• Abdominal Pain, Diarrhoea and Vomiting
• Febrile Child
• Seizures and Febrile Convulsions
• Acute Poisoning
• Limping Child
• Cot Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Child Abuse (Non-accidental Injury)
• Further Reading

Section 11. OBSTETRIC AND GYNAECOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES

• Gynaecological Assessment and Management
• Gynaecological Causes of Acute Abdominal Pain
• Bleeding in Early Pregnancy
• Conditions in Late Pregnancy
• Women’s Medicine Crises
• Further Reading

Section 12. ENT EMERGENCIES

• Traumatic Conditions of the Ear
• Non-traumatic Conditions of the Ear
• Traumatic Conditions of the Nose
• Non-traumatic Conditions of the Nose
• Traumatic Conditions of the Throat
• Non-traumatic Conditions of the Throat
• Further Reading

Section 13. OPHTHALMIC EMERGENCIES

• Visual Acuity
• Topical Ophthalmic Preparations
• Traumatic Conditions of the Eye
• Conditions Affecting the Eyelids
• The Painful, Red Eye
• Sudden Loss of Vision in the Uninflamed Eye
• Further Reading

Section 14. MAXILLOFACIAL AND DENTAL EMERGENCIES

• Traumatic Conditions of the Face and Mouth
• Non-traumatic Conditions of the Mouth
• Further Reading

Section 15. PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCIES

• Deliberate Self-harm
• The Violent Patient
• Alcohol and Drug Dependency and Abuse
• Involuntary Detention
• Further Reading

SECTION 16. ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL ISSUES

• Excellent Habits of the Good Emergency Department Doctor
• Triage
• Consent, Competence and Refusal of Treatment
• The Police, Coroner and Attending Court
• Retrieval and Inter-hospital Transfer
• Mass Casualty Disaster and the Major Incident
• Further Reading