Essentials of blood products | |
Clinical use of blood in medicine, obstetrics, paediatrics, surgery and anaesthesia, trauma and burns. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001 (337 pp). ISBN 92 4 154538 0. |
This World Health Organization
(WHO) publication is a result of collaboration between numerous experts from around the world. As the title suggests, the book is aimed at clinicians using blood products, and is not a specialised transfusion textbook. A pocket summary is also available (Clinical use of blood handbook. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001; 219 pp. ISBN 92 4 15439 9), which contains the essential guidelines for transfusion practice.
Being a WHO publication, the authors have had to ensure that the principles espoused are practical and can be implemented in a variety of settings depending on available resources. The book is well written, clearly set out and has excellent illustrations and summary boxes. It is easy to find specific subjects and “get to the meat” of an issue. The text is addressed to medical, nursing and scientific professionals and should be easily readable and understandable to all. This is a practical, procedure-oriented, “how to do” book, with introductory chapters on the principles of transfusion medicine and the basic physiology of blood. Each chapter has learning outcomes and exercises that direct the application of the theory and practice to individual circumstances. There are chapters dealing with replacement fluids, and the full range of blood products and their composition. The section covering the clinical procedures involved in getting the right product to the right patient at the right time, and potential adverse effects of transfusion, should be mandatory reading for all clinicians. The second half addresses each of the medical disciplines named in the title. All common indications for blood component therapy are addressed in theoretical and practical detail. Despite the enormous amount of material covered in its 337 pages (and the pocket summary) it does not suffer from the problems which bedevil some multiauthored works. It displays a uniformity of style, shows no repetition, and is relatively lightweight and readable. This is definitely not a book that should sit in the library collecting dust — it is a day-to-day manual for any professional involved in the provision and/or administration of blood and blood products. It is affordable, and readily accessible copies should be available in all clinical and laboratory settings. James Isbister
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