Emergency Nursing at a Glance

Natalie Holbery, Lecturer/Practitioner Emergency Care, St George's University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Kingston University and St George's, University of London Paul Newcombe, Associate Professor, Kingston University and St George’s, University of London

Contributors vii
Preface viii
Acknowledgements viii
About the Companion Website ix

Part 1 Initial patient assessment 1

1 The context of emergency nursing 2

2 Pre-hospital care 4

3 Triage 6

4 The ‘ABCDE’ approach 8

5 Track and trigger systems 10

6 Pain 12

Part 2 Airway and breathing 15

7 Airway assessment and management 16

8 Assessment of breathing 18

9 Oxygen therapy 20

10 Respiratory conditions 22

Part 3 Circulation 25

11 Assessment of circulation 26

12 Circulation interventions 28

13 Shock 30

14 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) 32

15 Cardiac arrhythmias 34

16 Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) 36

17 Heart failure 38

18 Advanced life support (ALS) 40

Part 4 Disability 43

19 Assessment of neurological function 44

20 The unconscious patient 46

21 Stroke 48

22 Seizures 50

23 Headache 52

Part 5 Emergency presentations and conditions 55

24 Abdominal pain 56

25 Gastrointestinal bleed 58

26 Genitourinary conditions 60

27 Acute kidney injury (AKI) 62

28 Diabetic emergencies 64

29 Obstetrics and gynaecology 66

Part 6 Poisoning and overdose 71

30 Poisoning: Assessment and management 72

31 Poisoning: Prescription and non-prescription drugs 74

32 Poisoning: Other substances 76

33 Alcohol misuse 78

Part 7 Infectious diseases 81

34 Infectious diseases 82

35 Notifiable diseases 84

36 Sexually transmitted infections (STI) 86

Part 8 Vulnerable patient groups 89

37 Domestic abuse 90

38 Sexual assault 92

39 The mental health patient in the emergency department (ED) 94

40 Risk assessment, self-harm and suicide 96

41 Common mental health problems 98

42 The patient with dementia 100

43 The patient with an intellectual disability 102

Part 9 Children in the emergency department 105

44 Children in the emergency department (ED) 106

45 Safeguarding children 108

46 Recognising the sick child 110

47 Common illnesses in children 112

48 Paediatric advanced life support 114

Part 10 Minor injuries and conditions 117

49 Minor injuries in children 118

50 Lower limb injuries 120

51 Upper limb injuries 122

52 Wounds 124

53 Eye conditions 126

54 Ear, nose and throat conditions 128

Part 11 Major Trauma 131

55 Trauma in context 132

56 Primary survey 134

57 Head and spinal injury 136

58 Chest trauma 138

59 Limb injuries 140

60 Abdominal and pelvic trauma 142

61 Massive haemorrhage 144

62 Burns 146

63 Trauma: Special circumstances 148

64 Trauma in children 150

65 Major incident 152

Part 12 Patient transfer and end of life care 155

66 Patient transfer 156

67 End of life care 158

Further reading/references 161

Index 165