Emergencies

This chapter explores cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurological, and endocrinological emergencies, including headache, breathlessness, chest pain, coma, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), shock, sepsis, anaphylactic shock, acute coronary syndrome with ST-elevation, acute coronary syndrome without ST-elevation, severe pulmonary oedema, cardiogenic shock, broad complex tachycardia, narrow complex tachycardia, bradycardia, acute severe asthma, acute exacerbations of COPD, pneumothorax, tension pneumothorax, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism (PE), acute upper GI bleeding, meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral abscess, status epilepticus, head injury, raised intracranial pressure (ICP), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), diabetic emergencies, thyroid emergencies, Addisonian crisis, hypopituitary coma, phaeochromocytoma emergencies, acute poisoning, poisons and their antidotes, paracetamol poisoning, salicylate poisoning, burns, hypothermia, and major disasters

History and examination

This chapter discusses taking a history and examination of a patient. It includes symptoms, systemic enquiry, physical examination, signs, cardiovascular system, pulses, jugular venous pressure, heart sounds, cardiac murmurs, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, abdomen, neurological system, cranial nerves, musculoskeletal examination, peripheral vascular system, genitourinary system, breast, thyroid, speech and higher mental function, movement disorders, psychiatric assessment, and method and order for a routine examination.

Eponymous syndromes

This chapter discusses eponymous syndromes, including Alice in Wonderland syndrome, Arnold–Chiari malformation, Baker’s cyst, Barrett’s oesophagus, Bazin’s disease, Behçet’s disease, Berger’s disease, Bickerstaff’s brainstem encephalitis, Brown-Séquard syndrome, Brugada syndrome, Budd–Chiari syndrome, Buerger’s disease, Caplan’s syndrome, Charcot–Marie–Tooth syndrome, Churg–Strauss syndrome, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), Crigler–Najjar syndrome, Devic’s syndrome, Dressler’s syndrome, Dubin–Johnson syndrome, Dupuytren’s contracture, Ekbom’s syndrome, Fabry disease, Fanconi anaemia, Felty’s syndrome, Fitz-Hugh–Curtis syndrome, Foster Kennedy syndrome, Friedreich’s ataxia, Froin’s syndrome, Gardner’s syndrome, Gélineau’s syndrome, Gerstmann’s syndrome, Gilbert’s syndrome, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, Goodpasture’s disease, Guillain–Barré syndrome, Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP), Horner’s syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome, Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome, Korsakoff’s syndrome, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, Leriche’s syndrome, Löffler’s eosinophilic endocarditis, Löffler’s syndrome, Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome, McArdle’s glycogen storage disease (type V), Mallory–Weiss tear, Marchiafava–Bignami syndrome, Marchiafava–Micheli syndrome, Marfan’s syndrome, Meckel’s diverticulum, Meigs’ syndrome, Ménétrier’s disease, Meyer–Betz syndrome, Mikulicz’s syndrome, Milroy disease, Münchausen’s syndrome, Ogilvie’s syndrome, Ortner’s cardiovocal syndrome, Osler–Weber–Rendu syndrome, Paget’s disease of the breast (PDB), Pancoast’s syndrome, Parinaud’s syndrome, Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria, Peutz–Jeghers’ syndrome, Peyronie’s disease, Pott’s syndrome, Prinzmetal (variant) angina, Raynaud’s syndrome, Refsum disease, Romano–Ward syndrome, Rotor syndrome, Sister Mary Joseph nodule, Sjögren’s syndrome, Stevens–Johnson syndrome, Sturge–Weber syndrome (SWS), Takayasu’s arteritis, Tietze’s syndrome, Todd’s palsy, Vincent’s angina, Von Hippel–Lindau syndrome, Von Willebrand’s disease (VWD), Wallenberg’s lateral medullary syndrome, Waterhouse–Friderichsen’s (WhF) syndrome, Weber’s syndrome, Wegener’s granulomatosis, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, Whipple’s disease, Zellweger syndrome, Zollinger–Ellison syndrome.

Infectious diseases

This chapter discusses infectious diseases, and includes bacterial infection, antibiotics, gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, tuberculosis (TB), influenza, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis, complications, and HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART), herpes, immunization, fungi, healthcare-associated (nosocomial) infection, sexually transmitted infection, fever in the returning traveller, enteric fever, malaria, mosquito-borne disease, vector-borne disease, zoonoses, viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), gastroenteritis, gastrointestinal parasites, schistosomiasis and liver disease, neurological disease, eye disease, skin disease, and pyrexia of unknown origin.

Renal medicine

This chapter discusses renal medicine, including urine, urinary tract infection (UTI), acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), renal replacement therapy (RRT), transplantation, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, renal manifestations of systemic disease, renal tubule: disorders and diuretics, tubulointerstitial nephropathy and nephrotoxins, and inherited kidney disease.

Chest medicine

This chapter explores chest medicine, including respiratory health, bedside tests in chest medicine, further investigations in chest medicine, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis (CF), lung tumours, fungi and the lung, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism (PE), pneumothorax, pleural effusion, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, cor pulmonale, sarcoidosis, interstitial lung disease (ILD), extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and industrial dust diseases.

Reference intervals, etc.

This chapter explores reference intervals, including statistics in medicine, biochemistry reference intervals, haematology reference intervals, drug therapeutic ranges in plasma, and important drug interactions.

Clinical chemistry

This chapter explores clinical chemistry, including the normal range, laboratory medicine, major disease patterns in biochemistry, lab results indicating emergencies, fluid balance, IV fluid therapy, electrolyte physiology and the kidney, acid–base balance, hypernatraemia, hyponatraemia, syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion (SIADH), hyperkalaemia, hypokalaemia, calcium and phosphate physiology, hypercalcaemia, hypocalcaemia, phosphate, magnesium, zinc, selenium, urate and the kidney, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget’s disease of bone, plasma proteins, urinary proteins, plasma enzymes, hyperlipidaemia, and the porphyrias.

Rheumatology

This chapter explores rheumatology, including rheumatological history, assessing the locomotor system, rheumatological investigations, back pain, osteoarthritis (OA), septic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), gout, CPPD arthropathy, ankylosing spondylitis (AS), enteropathic, psoriatic, and reactive arthritis, systemic sclerosis, mixed connective tissue disease, relapsing polychondritis, polymyositis and dermatomyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), giant cell arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, fibromyalgia, ocular manifestations, dermatological manifestations, acute SLE, acute systemic vasculitis, acute cord compression, GCA, methotrexate-induced pneumonitis, neutropenic sepsis, scleroderma: pulmonary hypertensive or renal crisis, and septic arthritis

Oncology and palliative care

This chapter discusses oncology and palliative care, including looking after people with cancer, cancer genetics, diagnosis, medicine, surgery, and radiotherapy, interventional oncology, oncology emergencies, paraneoplastic syndromes, tumour markers, and palliative care principles, pain, and care in the last days of life.