This is an essential pocket guide for nurses coping with patients with acute medical conditions. It focuses on events within the first critical twenty-four hours of admission and provides an up-to-date, evidence-based guide to the management of these patients. The most common emergency medical conditions are described and explained in terms of the underlying disease mechanisms. The book also describes the assessment, observations and management in relation to disease processes and in line with the latest guidelines and protocols. Nursing care is related to the underlying disease. This book bridges the gap between a pure nursing text and a medical guide to emergency admissions. Practical advice is laid out in a clear, accessible style with extensive use of lists, tables and boxed material to highlight critical nursing tasks and enable quick location of vital information.