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Acute Medicine offers an accessible and concise guide to the practical management of all acute medical problems likely to be encountered in the emergency department, ambulatory care centre, acute medical unit or on the wards.
Reflecting the maturation of acute medicine as a separate specialty, the book is divided into common presentations, specific problems and procedures. New to the fifth edition is a chapter on bed-side ultrasonography; throughout, emphasis is placed on patient safety, and the use of flow diagrams, tables and figures ensures that key information is quickly accessible.
Thoroughly revised by experts in the subject, and updated to reflect current approaches to diagnosis and management, Acute Medicine is an excellent companion for the trainee as well as an aide-mémoire for the more experienced physician.
List of contents
Contributors, xi
Preface, xix
Evolution of acute medicine: the development of ambulatory emergency care, xxi
Section 1: Presentations in Acute Medicine, 1
General, 2
1 The critically ill patient, 3
2 Hypotension and shock, 9
3 Reduced conscious level, 16
4 Delirium, 23
5 Falls in older people, 30
Cardiorespiratory, 34
6 Cardiac arrest in hospital, 35
7 Acute chest pain, 46
8 Palpitations, 53
9 Transient loss of consciousness, 60
10 Acute breathlessness, 68
11 Acute respiratory failure, 73
12 Pleural effusion, 79
13 Cough and haemoptysis, 85
Neurological, 91
14 Neurological diagnosis in acute medicine, 92
15 Acute headache, 98
16 Seizures and epilepsy, 103
17 Weakness and paralysis, 110
18 Acute sensory symptoms, 117
19 Loss of vision, 123
Abdominal, 132
20 Acute vomiting, 133
21 Acute abdominal pain, 138
22 Acute diarrhoea, 144
23 Acute jaundice, 150
24 Ascites, 155
25 Acute kidney injury, 160
Skin and Musculoskeletal, 170
26 Acute rash, 171
27 Urticaria and angioedema, 177
28 Acute arthritis, 183
29 Acute spinal pain, 187
30 Acute limb pain, 190
Miscellaneous, 194
31 Comprehensive geriatric assessment, 195
32 Acute medical problems in pregnancy, 199
33 Fever on return from abroad, 207
34 Acute medical problems in the HIV-positive patient, 215
Section 2: Syndromes and Disorders, 223
General, 224
35 Sepsis, 225
36 Poisoning, 233
37 Acid-base disorders, 246
38 Anaphylaxis, 252
Cardiovascular, 258
39 Acute arrhythmias: general principles of management, 259
40 Regular broad complex tachycardia, 263
41 Irregular broad complex tachycardia, 268
42 Narrow complex tachycardia, 272
43 Atrial fibrillation and flutter, 279
44 Bradycardia and atrioventricular block, 283
45 Acute coronary syndromes (1): ST-segment elevation, 289
46 Acute coronary syndromes (2): Non-ST-segment elevation, 298
47 Acute pulmonary oedema, 305
48 Acute heart failure and decompensated chronic heart failure, 311
49 Cardiogenic shock, 317
50 Aortic dissection and other acute aortic syndromes, 321
51 Heart valve disease and prosthetic heart valves, 328
52 Infective endocarditis, 333
53 Acute pericarditis, 340
54 Cardiac tamponade, 344
55 Severe hypertension, 347
56 Deep vein thrombosis, 353
57 Pulmonary embolism, 358
58 Problems with pacemakers and other cardiac devices, 366
Respiratory, 371
59 Upper airway obstruction, 372
60 Acute asthma, 378
61 Exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 384
62 Community-acquired pneumonia, 390
63 Hospital-acquired pneumonia, 396
64 Pneumothorax, 399
Neurological, 402
65 Stroke, 403
66 Transient ischaemic attack, 412
67 Subarachnoid haemorrhage, 418
68 Bacterial meningitis, 422
69 Encephalitis, 428
70 Spinal cord compression, 432
71 Guillain-Barré syndrome, 436
72 Raised intracranial pressure, 442
Abdominal, 446
73 Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 447
74 Acute lower gastro
About the author
David Sprigings, Consultant Physician 1993-2016, Northampton General Hospital, Northampton, UK.
John B. Chambers, Professor of Clinical Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, London, UK.
Summary
Acute Medicine offers an accessible and concise guide to the practical management of all acute medical problems likely to be encountered in the emergency department, ambulatory care centre, acute medical unit or on the wards.
