Encyclopaedic anaesthesia | |
Anaesthesia and intensive care A to Z: an encyclopaedia of principles and practice. Steven M Yentis, Nicholas P Hirsch, Gary B Smith. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 2000 (577 pp). ISBN: 0 7506 3249 6. |
This second edition of Anaesthesia and intensive care A to Z is promoted as a book which provides, "in a single volume, a source of readily available information concerning aspects of physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, physics, statistics, history, clinical anaesthesia, equipment, intensive care, medicine and surgery". Since it was first published in 1993, the book has been reprinted three times, and this popularity has encouraged the authors to update and expand it. The book has an extensive coverage of anaesthesia topics, with a more limited coverage of intensive care. Some important topics did not rate a mention (cerebral salt wasting syndrome, strong ion difference). The narrative style lends itself to examination preparation, but the book would appeal to a much wider readership. It does assume some prior knowledge, but it provides a rapid review of essential knowledge on the basic sciences, pharmacology, equipment and aspects of clinical practice. As this book claims to be encyclopaedic, I took it to theatre for a week and looked up every question asked of me. To my surprise I found that almost all topics were covered, and the alphabetical listing made them easy to locate. The information presented generally explained the essentials of the topic and triggered the memory to recall additional detail. A few errors were apparent, particularly the definition of pH, the description of statistical power and functional residual capacity, but overall errors and omissions were minor. This book is a refreshing change from the prolific genre of aide mémoire texts that are currently available. The information is concise but effectively presented, with the amount of detail accorded a topic generally relevant to anaesthetists and intensivists. References are sparse and generally refer the reader to a recent review article in a major journal. Cross-referencing is indicated by bold type. My overall impression was that this is a useful book, particularly as it enables the busy clinician to go straight to information that is often difficult to source. Geoffrey S Gordon
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