In Case of Emergency: What to do Until the Doctor Arrives.

Abstract

Physicians in their offices or in hospital emergency rooms are presented a spectrum of medical and surgical problems varying in severity and urgency. It is difficult to estimate, because of geographic differences in availability of care, but perhaps 20% of these problems are of such a minor degree that the opinion of a physician is not needed. Patients often realize this, but they may not have been able to speak to their doctor or they do not have a reference source at hand to allay their apprehensions. In Case of Emergencyattempts to provide such a source of first-aid advice. In most instances it achieves the goal by providing a well-indexed and organized manual for an immediate self-help. I tried to read this book not as a physician, but as a worried parent of a sick child in the small hours of the morning, or as a witness to an