A pocket guide for nurses caring for patients with acute medical conditions. This work focuses on events within the first critical twenty-four hours of admission, and provides a guide to the management of these patients. It is useful for emergency care practitioners and 'Hospital at Night' teams.

It provides the knowledge base for a multidisciplinary approach to emergency medicine and will be invaluable to Emergency Care Practitioners and 'Hospital at Night' teams.

An introduction to the recognition, assessment and immediate care of the critically ill medical patient. Cardiology. Respiratory medicine. Acute neurological problems. Gastroenterology. Diabetic complications. Thromboembolic disease. Deliberate self-harm, alcohol and substance misuse. The 'social admission'. Multisystem failure. Emerging problems: outbreaks and deliberate releases - SARS, toxins and biological agents