Our focus will be to address the immediate life-threatening problems in a quick and efficient way and not to waste valuable time in reaching a final diagnosis.

This book follows the above principles and it is designed to be read by all health care providers who are involved in Emergency Medicine Care including: physicians, medical students, and nursing professionals. It is unique in the sense that it is compiled by a single author speaking from his own 25 years of experience in the ER, combined with up-to-date universal fundamental principles of emergency medicine.

The book is divided into 21 chapters and sectioned by the body system. Tables, charts, and easy illustrations are used to clarify the content and facilitate the learning process. Standard National Treatment Guidelines are stressed in each case discussion. The first golden hour of opportunity rule is stressed in many emergencies including: stroke and MI management, to optimize care and the patient's quality of life. The last chapter deals with disaster management, triaging techniques, and discussing the use of mock trials to train health care workers to manage a mass casualty incident in an efficient way. It will additionally discuss drownings, burns from fire, chemicals, and electrical sources, all of which are preventable injuries. The chapters also stress the need to coordination between governmental law enforcement and the community to help prevent these disasters from ever occurring.

Each case study is designed to stimulate a thought process, especially for students, to formulate a diagnosis and a quick treatment plan accordingly. Clinical Pearls and Pitfalls are provided to keep the importance in mind 8of missing a diagnosis as well as the legal implications that would follow. Some historical cases are mentioned to make the subject interesting, easy to remember, and relates to the case.

I hope this book is valuable and an enjoyable read compared to the average textbook and at the same time gives information and up-to-date knowledge for the care of critically ill patients. If I can save a single life with my education points, the purpose of this book will be fulfilled.

First of all, I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout the process. My wife Qudsia Zaheer md and our children Fatima, Zubair, Naima, and Zaki Zaheer as well as my mother Nurjehan, for her prayers and blessings.

To my professional mentors Judith E Tintinalli md, author of Emergency Medicine Manual from University of North Carolina & Beatrice Hoffman from Johns Hopkins for their encouraging remarks.

To my teachers who have inspired me: First of all my elder brother Khutub M Uddin md, my professional mentor Khaja Ahmed Shamsi md, my primary school teacher Syed Sirajuddin, and my teachers from medical school late TP Gopinath md and the late Prasad Rao ms who influenced me through their dedication and love for teaching medicine.

I thank the faculty and medical students at Chicago Medical School for providing me the inspiration for the work I do every day as well assisting me in the editing of my manuscript—especially Ibtihaj Faghee md, Sean Hsu and Mateo Tole I would like to thank Mr Jeffery Irons, Regional Manager at Emcare for giving me the opportunity to work with Emcare all these years and encouraging me to become ATLS instructor then advising me to take emergency board and then write a book.

To my classmates Jaffery Hashmi md, Irshad Hussain Askari md, MA Rasheed md, Surendernath CMD, Javed Ankolvi md, Durga Prasad Rao md, MA Mateen md, Fakhruddin md, Ziauddin Ahmed md, Shamsunder Rao md, Chiranjeev Reddy md, Zafar Hashmi md, Upender Gowd md, Sudha Mai md, Nagamani, md, Hemlata md, Naseer Ahmed Khan md, Suresh Chandra Hari ms, and to my senior classmates Muhammad Anwar Hussain md, Humayun Shareef md, Raju Paturi md (Raju Medico), Rafi Ahmed Jaan md, and Quadratullah Shareef md.

Special thanks to Mr Suresh Kumar for his initial guidance in starting this book and Amer Aldeen md, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Northwestern University, Sh. Zakaria Khudeira, Azhar Quader md, Ayesha Sultana md from CCN Chicago, and Abdel Azim El-Siddiq.

This book was only possible due to the continuous support of Ms Chetna Malhotra Vohra (Senior Manager-Business Development) for all her help in resolving problems throughout the process and Ms Saima Rashid (Development Editor) of M/s Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. New Delhi, India, for her meticulous tireless review of the manuscript.