Table of Contents

CRITICAL CARE EMERGENCIES
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Acute Upper Airway Obstruction
Shocked Patient
Unconscious Patient
Anaphylaxis
Severe Head Injury
Critical Care Areas Drug Infusion Guidelines
Further Reading

GENERAL MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
Chest Pain
Cardiac Arrhythmias
Breathless Patient
Upper Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage
Diabetic Coma and Pre-Coma
Altered Conscious Level
Acute Neurological Conditions
Headache
Acute Arthropathy
Allergic or Immunological Conditions
Skin Disorders
Elderly Patient
Further Reading

ACID–BASE, ELECTROLYTE AND RENAL EMERGENCIES
Acid–Base Disturbances
Electrolyte Disorders
Acute Renal Failure
Further Reading

INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND FOREIGN TRAVEL EMERGENCIES
Febrile Neutropenic Patient
Hepatitis
Gastrointestinal Tract Infection
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Needlestick and Sharps Incidents
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
Tuberculosis
Bites with Rabies or Other Lyssavirus Risk
Common Imported Diseases of Travellers
Pandemic Influenza
Further Reading

SURGICAL EMERGENCIES
Multiple Injuries
Further Diagnosis and Management of Multiple Injuries: Definitive Care
Head and Facial Injuries
Neck Injuries
Chest Injuries
Abdominal and Pelvic Trauma
Additional Orthopaedic Injuries in Multiple Trauma
Head Injury
Burns
Acute Abdomen
Further Reading

ORTHOPAEDIC EMERGENCIES
Injuries to the 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

MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SOFT-TISSUE EMERGENCIES
Soft-Tissue Injuries
Non-Articular Rheumatism
Back Pain
Further Reading

PAEDIATRIC EMERGENCIES
General Assessment
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Breathless Child
Stridor
Abdominal Pain, Diarrhoea and Vomiting
Febrile Child
Seizures and Febrile Convulsions
Acute Poisoning
Limping Child
Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy
Child Abuse (Non-Accidental Injury)
Further Reading

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

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

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

MAXILLOFACIAL AND DENTAL EMERGENCIES
Traumatic Conditions of the Face and Mouth
Non-Traumatic Conditions of the Mouth
Further Reading

PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCIES
Deliberate Self-Harm
Violent Patient
Alcohol and Drug Dependency and Abuse
Involuntary Admission
Further Reading

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

TOXINOLOGY EMERGENCIES
Snake Bites
Spider Bites
Marine Envenomation
Bee and Wasp Stings
Further Reading

ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES
Heat, Cold and Drowning
Sports-Diving Accidents
Electrocution and Lightning Strike
Further Reading

ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL ISSUES
Habits of a Good Emergency Department Doctor
Triage
Consent, Competence and Refusal of Treatment
Police, Coroner and Attending Court
Retrieval and Inter-Hospital Transfer
Major Incident
Further Reading

PRACTICAL PROCEDURES
Endotracheal Intubation
Rapid Sequence Induction Intubation
Cricothyrotomy
Needle Thoracentesis
Intercostal Catheter Insertion
DC Cardioversion
Pericardial Aspiration
Central Line Insertion
Intraosseous Line Insertion
Lumbar Puncture
Indwelling Urethral Catheter Insertion
Nasogastric Tube Insertion
Bier’s Intravenous Regional Block
Femoral Nerve Block
Digital Nerve Ring Block
Knee Aspiration
Further Reading

Glossary

Appendix: Normal Laboratory Values

About the Author

Professor Anthony F.T. Brown, MB ChB, FRCP, FRCS(Ed), FRCEM, FACEM, professor of emergency medicine, Discipline of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, School of Medicine, University of Queensland; and senior staff specialist, Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Australia


Mike Cadogan, MA(Oxon), MB ChB (Ed), FACEM, staff specialist in emergency medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, Perth, Australia; and chief medical editor and co-founder of Lifeinthefastlane.com.

Reviews

"As a physician who teaches a lot of residents and medical students, I find this type of book very useful and easy to recommend. It serves well as an adjunct to other books and lectures and really tells readers just the important stuff. It has been five years since the prior edition and the authors have updated the book nicely, and include a reference to an online blog/website that is published privately by one of the authors." - Michael D. Zwank, MD, RDMS, FACEP(University of Minnesota Medical School), Doody Enterprises