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The prospect of caring for acutely ill patients has the potential to overwhelm students and newly qualified health professionals, with many reporting feelings of stress, fear and inexperience. In this context, Acute Illness Management arrives as a much needed guide to the fundamental aspects of care in the hospital setting.

This book equips students with a practical understanding of essential skills ranging from resuscitation to early intervention and to trauma care. It explains the rationale behind protocols of care highlighting the relationship between theory and practice.

Key Features: Includes tips for analyzing care decisions in a critical and effective manner; Offers reflective activities and self-assessment questions to cement learning; Provides legal and ethical considerations

Acute Illness Management is an invaluable resource for students and qualified practitioners in nursing and other health professions.

The Physiology of Acute Illness

The physiology of acute illness

Chapter Aims

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

  • Define homeostasis and outline the actions that the body takes to maintain homeostasis
  • Describe in basic terms the systems of the body that control cell energy production, fluid distribution, inflammation and acid-base balance
  • Identify insults that can affect the body and describe how the body reacts
  • Explain the concepts of compensated and decompensated illness
  • Relate the changes in physiology that occur during acute illness to the basic observations that health professionals make
  • Recognise a need to work in a goal-directed way to support the physiology of those who are acutely ill

During periods of acute illness, a person's physiology changes in order that they can respond to the injury or insult ...

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