Book excerpt: Are you a nurse, a physician's associate or a medical student in an acute or emergency unit? This is your indispensable primer of acute medical care – a pocket guide to caring for patients with acute medical conditions. This book will help you to - care for patients in the first critical 24 hours of admission - manage patients using the most up-to-date evidence based approach - understand the most common emergency medical conditions and their underlying disease mechanisms - handle the patient's assessment , understand the observations and manage their disease - easily obtain clear practical advice - know what to tell the patient and relatives using jargon-free language - access information on SARS, avian influenza and bio-terrorism This updated edition - contains improved sections on stroke care, diabetes and sepsis, - introduces the NEWS 2 observation chart - has revised its case histories in line with current practice This updated edition: contains improved sections on stroke care, diabetes and sepsis, introduces the NEWS 2 observation chart has revised its case histories in line with current practice