This quick-reference manual presents over 200 triage protocols for evaluating patients' symptoms over the telephone. Each symptom entry lists questions, grouped by urgency level, to determine whether the caller should seek emergency care now, seek medical care the same day, call back for appointment, or follow home care instructions. Detailed home care instructions are then provided.

This edition features fourteen new protocols: avian influenza ("bird flu"); congestive heart failure; electrical burns; hand/wrist problems; hip pain/injury; influenza; neurological symptoms; newborn problems; pertussis; severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); sickle cell disease problems; substance abuse, use, or exposure; West Nile virus; and wound care: sutures or staples. New appendices include guidelines for scenario practice; difficult caller practice scenarios; mystery caller practice session; temperature conversion guide; weight conversion chart; acetaminophen dosage chart; ibuprofen dosage chart; infant feeding guide; abdominal pain causes and characteristics; chest pain causes and characteristics; and headache causes and characteristics.