24/5/26 Diphtheria alert
There is currently an outbreak of Diphtheria in parts of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. Please be alert for cases of oropharyngeal and cutaneous Diphtheria in patients who have been to these regions, particularly Indigenous patients.
Important copyright and AI information
Please be reminded that unauthorised reproduction of the Manual in any form, including creation of summaries, audio or animation, or copying content into any machine learning tool is not permitted. Breaches of this agreement will result in immediate, and permanent, termination of access and legal action for breach of copyright.
Dedication
This manual is dedicated to the memory of Dr Edward William Brentnall FACEM, MBE, OAM, KStJ 05/08/1929-01/10/2024. Ed was a guiding light for generations of emergency physicians who sheltered, mentored and inspired many of us. See the full dedication here.
Latest updates
Analytical errors in biochemistry
The Interpretation of investigation results page has been updated with additional information about analytical errors.
Sodium measurement
The Hyponatraemia page has been simplified by the removal of reference to factors affecting [Na+] when using flame photometric or indirect ion sensing methods as these are rarely, if ever used in current practice.
Hypernatraemia
The Hypernatraemia page has had a number of other minor updates.
0.45% Saline replacement volume formula for hypernatraemia
The Hypernatraemia page has been updated with a formula for calculating the volume of 0.45% saline required to replace TBW deficits.
Free water deficit formula
The Hypernatraemia page has been updated with a more accurate free water deficit formula.
Hypophosphataemia
The Hypophosphataemia page has had a number of minor updates.
Normal serum phosphate levels
The Phosphate page has been updated with an expanded range of normal phosphate levels for different ages.
Transient synovitis
The Paediatric orthopaedic conditions page has been updated with some additional information about transient synovitis of the hip.
