This fourth edition has been completely revised, with the addition of a new author, new chapters and updated content based on the latest evidence-based guidelines. The layout is in a succinct, easy-to-read format that outlines a practical, fast, efficient and effective bedside approach to clinical problem-solving on call.
Table of Contents
Section A - General Principles
- Approach to the diagnosis and management of on-call problems
- Professionalism and teamwork
- Documentation and communication
- Ethical and legal considerations
- Death, dying and breaking bad news
- Transferring the unwell patient
- Junior doctors’ health and wellbeing
- Critically ill patient
- Cardiac arrest
- Acute airway failure
- Acute respiratory failure
- Acute circulatory failure
- Disability: acute neurological failure
- Environment, exposure and examination
- Hospital-based emergency response codes
- Shortness of breath, cough and haemoptysis
- Chest pain
- Heart rate and rhythm disorders
- Hypotension
- Hypertension
- Altered mental status
- Collapse including syncope
- Falls
- Headache
- Seizures
- Weakness and dizziness
- Abdominal pain
- Postoperative ward calls
- Altered bowel habit
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Haematuria
- Decreased urine output and acute kidney injury
- Frequency and polyuria
- Leg pain
- Febrile patient
- Skin rashes
- Transfusion reactions
- Electrocardiogram
- Urinalysis
- Arterial and venous blood gases
- Chest X-ray
- Abdominal X-ray
- CT head scan
- Hyper- and hypoglycaemia
- Hyper- and hyponatraemia
- Hyper- and hypokalaemia
- Hyper- and hypocalcaemia
- Anaemia
- Coagulation disorders
- General preparation for a practical procedure
- Infection control and standard precautions
- Blood cultures
- Peripheral venous cannulation
- Basic ultrasound and difficult peripheral cannulation
- Arterial puncture
- Administering an injection
- Local anaesthetic infiltration
- Nasogastric tube insertion
- Urinary catheterisation
- Paracentesis
- Pleural tap
- Chest drain insertion and removal
- Lumbar puncture
- Joint aspiration
- Cardiac monitoring and the electrocardiograph
- Defibrillation
- Electrical cardioversion (DC reversion)
- Transthoracic cardiac pacing
- On-call formulary
Analgesics and local anaesthetics
Cardiovascular
Respiratory and allergy
Gastrointestinal
Neurological
Psychotropics
Antimicrobials
Endocrine and metabolic
Genitourinary
Antidotes
- Normal laboratory ranges

