What you really need to know, but no one told you. The Essential Guide to Acute Care contains everything you really need to know about acute care that you can't find in a standard textbook and have probably never been taught before. Starting with the concept of patients at risk, the Essential Guide to Acute Care explains how to recognise and manage the generic altered physiology that accompanies acute illness. The principles of acute care are explained simply yet comprehensively. Throughout the book 'mini-tutorials' expand on the latest thinking or controversies, and practical case histories reinforce learning at the end of each chapter. The chapters are designed to be read by individuals or used for group tutorials in acute care. Extensively rewritten and updated, this second edition is essential reading for anyone who looks after acutely ill adults, including: * Foundation Programme trainees and trainers * Trainees in medicine, surgery, anaesthesia and emergency medicine * Final year medical students * Nursing staff and allied professionals working in critical care