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Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care

Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care Edited by Federic Bongard, Darryl Sue, and Janine Vintch 3rd ed, 578 pp, $64.95 New York, NY, McGraw Hill, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0-0714-3657-1 Most physicians are well aware of the popular Current Diagnosis & Treatment texts, because they cover a gamut of topics ranging from internal medicine to otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, and sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of this series is to provide an up-to-date presentation of a particular topic in a straightforward, readily accessible manner, unencumbered by dense, theoretical analysis. One might think of the series as a happy middle ground, somewhere between the 5 Minute Consult series and more comprehensive texts. From this perspective, Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care does not disappoint. It presents a succinct yet fairly thorough overview of a wide variety of problems that confront the average intensivist or emergency physician. The chapters address illness from the system perspective (respiratory failure, renal failure, cardiac problems in the intensive care unit [ICU]) as well as from the disease or problem-specific perspective (surgical emergencies or complications, poisoning, diabetes mellitus, and human immunodeficiency virus). The text begins with a chapter describing the philosophy and principles of critical care. It then delves into the recent use of evidence-based medicine to support or challenge many commonly held beliefs in the management of the critically ill patient and summarizes general aspects of ICU care, including documentation, monitoring, infection control, and scoring systems such as the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III. While the text is a reasonable introduction and foundation for the fledgling practitioner, it may be a bit basic for the academic or veteran critical care physician. The initial 10 chapters deal with fundamental principles that apply to all critically ill patients. These include fluid and electrolytes, transfusion therapy, nutrition, and one that we found particularly unique: transport. This is often not included in a discussion of critical care medicine but is becoming more and more relevant as increased specialization and regionalization result in increased interfacility transport. The chapter notes specific entities such as burn injuries, which are often transferred to specialty centers, as well as the modes of transport, equipment, and personnel required to ensure safe passage. This is a practical subject often overlooked in academic textbooks. Similarly, the chapter on ethical, legal, and palliative care considerations is sometimes omitted in other critical care texts. The author of that chapter not only discusses physician “compassion fatigue” but offers advice on the common problem encountered when a patient's wishes are in conflict with the physician's own professional or personal values. Most of the ensuing chapters are organized in a similar fashion. They begin with an outline of the essentials of diagnosis, followed by a brief discussion of pathophysiology, clinical and laboratory features, differential diagnosis, and treatment plans. Many chapters contain a table of bullet points on essentials of diagnosis, which can be helpful when time is critical. Current references are available for readers interested in additional material. The information contained in the chapters is clear and easy to understand, not just for the critical care specialist but also for the general internist and hospitalist. Although each chapter is written by a different author, the fluidity of the narrative gives the book a certain consistency. For example, different chapters present excellent discussions of sepsis and septic shock. The signs, stages, and treatment of sepsis are presented clearly and concisely in the chapter on infections. The management of septic shock is discussed in even greater detail and with equal clarity in the subsequent chapter on shock. The review of the entire subject matter is complete, despite the breadth of material it attempts to cover. Some topics, such as pulmonary embolism, are covered more fully while others, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, are barely touched on. However, the amount of time dedicated to each appears appropriate. Although any textbook is usually outdated once in print, this one does include relatively new topics such as goal-directed therapy for sepsis and updated indications for red blood cell transfusion. A Web link for updates might be worthwhile in future editions. Since this book is neither a quick reference guide nor an in-depth analysis of critical care, it could be compared to a similar text, The ICU Book by Paul Marino. Bongard et al's Current Diagnosis & Treatment book is organized in a more user-friendly format, and because Marino delves deeper into basic science principles in chapters such as circulatory blood flow and respiratory gas transport, Bongard et al can cover a wider range of more specific topics such as burns, neurosurgical critical care, and cardiothoracic surgery. Marino has a more theoretical bent, making Bongard et al's text a more practical reference for the practitioner. This is not to say the book is without flaws. The chapter on imaging, although well written, does furnish several radiological images that are a bit small and some that are blurry. However, this is more a function of the size of the book and the quality of the paper used than anything else. Furthermore, the chapter on dermatologic problems in the ICU, also well written, does not offer any illustrative photographs. There is no information on bedside procedures, but this is an intentional omission, perhaps because the editors felt this information would be better suited to pocket manuals than this text. Nevertheless, for the green or seasoned intensivist, the emergency department physician, or even the inquisitive hospitalist, Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care is a worthwhile adjunct to their medical library, rendering a substantive subject matter easily digestible. Back to top Article Information Financial Disclosures: None reported. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care

JAMA , Volume 301 (5) – Feb 4, 2009

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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.2009.10
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Edited by Federic Bongard, Darryl Sue, and Janine Vintch 3rd ed, 578 pp, $64.95 New York, NY, McGraw Hill, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0-0714-3657-1 Most physicians are well aware of the popular Current Diagnosis & Treatment texts, because they cover a gamut of topics ranging from internal medicine to otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, and sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of this series is to provide an up-to-date presentation of a particular topic in a straightforward, readily accessible manner, unencumbered by dense, theoretical analysis. One might think of the series as a happy middle ground, somewhere between the 5 Minute Consult series and more comprehensive texts. From this perspective, Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care does not disappoint. It presents a succinct yet fairly thorough overview of a wide variety of problems that confront the average intensivist or emergency physician. The chapters address illness from the system perspective (respiratory failure, renal failure, cardiac problems in the intensive care unit [ICU]) as well as from the disease or problem-specific perspective (surgical emergencies or complications, poisoning, diabetes mellitus, and human immunodeficiency virus). The text begins with a chapter describing the philosophy and principles of critical care. It then delves into the recent use of evidence-based medicine to support or challenge many commonly held beliefs in the management of the critically ill patient and summarizes general aspects of ICU care, including documentation, monitoring, infection control, and scoring systems such as the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III. While the text is a reasonable introduction and foundation for the fledgling practitioner, it may be a bit basic for the academic or veteran critical care physician. The initial 10 chapters deal with fundamental principles that apply to all critically ill patients. These include fluid and electrolytes, transfusion therapy, nutrition, and one that we found particularly unique: transport. This is often not included in a discussion of critical care medicine but is becoming more and more relevant as increased specialization and regionalization result in increased interfacility transport. The chapter notes specific entities such as burn injuries, which are often transferred to specialty centers, as well as the modes of transport, equipment, and personnel required to ensure safe passage. This is a practical subject often overlooked in academic textbooks. Similarly, the chapter on ethical, legal, and palliative care considerations is sometimes omitted in other critical care texts. The author of that chapter not only discusses physician “compassion fatigue” but offers advice on the common problem encountered when a patient's wishes are in conflict with the physician's own professional or personal values. Most of the ensuing chapters are organized in a similar fashion. They begin with an outline of the essentials of diagnosis, followed by a brief discussion of pathophysiology, clinical and laboratory features, differential diagnosis, and treatment plans. Many chapters contain a table of bullet points on essentials of diagnosis, which can be helpful when time is critical. Current references are available for readers interested in additional material. The information contained in the chapters is clear and easy to understand, not just for the critical care specialist but also for the general internist and hospitalist. Although each chapter is written by a different author, the fluidity of the narrative gives the book a certain consistency. For example, different chapters present excellent discussions of sepsis and septic shock. The signs, stages, and treatment of sepsis are presented clearly and concisely in the chapter on infections. The management of septic shock is discussed in even greater detail and with equal clarity in the subsequent chapter on shock. The review of the entire subject matter is complete, despite the breadth of material it attempts to cover. Some topics, such as pulmonary embolism, are covered more fully while others, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, are barely touched on. However, the amount of time dedicated to each appears appropriate. Although any textbook is usually outdated once in print, this one does include relatively new topics such as goal-directed therapy for sepsis and updated indications for red blood cell transfusion. A Web link for updates might be worthwhile in future editions. Since this book is neither a quick reference guide nor an in-depth analysis of critical care, it could be compared to a similar text, The ICU Book by Paul Marino. Bongard et al's Current Diagnosis & Treatment book is organized in a more user-friendly format, and because Marino delves deeper into basic science principles in chapters such as circulatory blood flow and respiratory gas transport, Bongard et al can cover a wider range of more specific topics such as burns, neurosurgical critical care, and cardiothoracic surgery. Marino has a more theoretical bent, making Bongard et al's text a more practical reference for the practitioner. This is not to say the book is without flaws. The chapter on imaging, although well written, does furnish several radiological images that are a bit small and some that are blurry. However, this is more a function of the size of the book and the quality of the paper used than anything else. Furthermore, the chapter on dermatologic problems in the ICU, also well written, does not offer any illustrative photographs. There is no information on bedside procedures, but this is an intentional omission, perhaps because the editors felt this information would be better suited to pocket manuals than this text. Nevertheless, for the green or seasoned intensivist, the emergency department physician, or even the inquisitive hospitalist, Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Critical Care is a worthwhile adjunct to their medical library, rendering a substantive subject matter easily digestible. Back to top Article Information Financial Disclosures: None reported.

Journal

JAMAAmerican Medical Association

Published: Feb 4, 2009

There are no references for this article.