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Basic Resuscitation and Primary Care. By Wilson F. and Park W. G. Published by MTP Press Ltd. Pp. 339; illustrated; indexed. Price £9.95.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA
782
Intensive Care for Nurses,3rd edn. Edited by D.B. Clarke and rationale for temperature monitoring of all anaesthetized A. D. Barnes. Published (1980) by Blackwell Scientific patients and will help to raise clinical standards. Publications. Pp. 195; illustrated; indexed. Price £6.75. F. R. Ellis
Isobel W. Cooper
J. G. Mom Body
Temperature
Control in Anaesthesia,
Surgery,
and
Intensive Care. By Anita Holdcroft. Published (1980) by Bailliere Tindall. Pp. 179; illustrated; indexed. Price £8.50. In view of the well-recognized changes in body temperature induced by anaesthesia, it is remarkable that this index is not monitored routinely by anaesthetists, especially as body temperature has been one of the prime variables faithfully recorded from all surgical patients by ward nurses. The importance of this lapse has been underlined by the ugly emergency of malignant hyperpyrexia (MH), yet although MH could provide the incentive, there is much more to be gained by temperature recording. Anita Holdcroft has written a short but detailed account of body temperature, its control, variation and value in surgical patients and in victims of exposure. The book is easy to read and is well organized with clear and useful illustrations. References are kept to a minimum and are restricted largely to more notable contributions over the past four decades. In the first chapter, which deals with physiological regulation of body temperature, the author has summarized many of the different hypotheses that have been used to explain this complex phenomenon. Her approach has been descriptive rather than mathematical, and she has ignored, perhaps wisely, the current accent on feedback mechanisms. It is unfortunate that the book was completed before the recent work on brown adipose tissue was reported, as this may provide a new dimension in the concepts of heat balance, even in adults. This book should be read by all anaesthetists as it contains much of practical value and interest. It provides a clear
Basic Resuscitation and Primary Care. By F. Wilson and W. G.
Park. Published by MTP Press Ltd. Pp. 339; illustrated; indexed. Price £9.95. This well-produced book is aimed at the newly qualified doctor end senior nursing p^i^^nnel. Tn the preface, the authors reveal at once that they are entirely hospital-orientated. Whilst this may be simple realism, to emphasize that "successful treatment during thefirst60 minutes, and very often thefirstfew minutes, is often vital in the saving of life", and then to ignore totally the movement towards pre-hospital care is a big disappointment. Another general criticism is the use of the word "Basic" in the title. We are told that this is to emphasize that the apparatus is simple and available in all hospitals and that discussion will be limited to the first hour following treatment. The book kept to these limitations, but strays way beyond the concept of "basic" in its scope. This reviewer found the layout difficult to follow. By dealing with specific conditions in the first section, the authors were faced with the choice of continually repeating themselves or omitting standard resuscitative procedures. Simple airway management does not appear until p. 203 and the advantages of the lateral or semi-prone position are ignored. Perhaps one of the problems of this book is its attempt to be all-embracing. The section on specific conditions ranges from cardiac arrest to malignant hyperpyrexia and from burns to pre-cclampsia. They are inevitably brief accounts, but nowhere are references given for further reading. Section II is a useful and well-written chapter but, again, is largely out of place in a book entitled Basic Resuscitation. It contains chapters on anaesthetic equipment, ventilators, i.v. anaesthetics and neuromuscular blocking agents which seem to be beyond the scope of basic resuscitation and certainly beyond the scope of newly qualified doctors and senior nursing staff. This is a disappointing book. The authors have much to contribute, but the contribution is made in a haphazard way to a wide variety of audience levels and without a coherent theme. J. S. M. Zorab
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at The University of British Colombia Library on July 2, 2015
Previous editions of this book were published in 1971 and 1975. As before, all the authors are medical and the absence of a nursing contributor is a valid criticism in a book aimed at nursing staff—a point acknowledged in the Preface to the First Edition. In addition to the usuai topics of Intensive Care Nursing, this small paperback attempts to cover Coronary Care, Paediatric Intensive Care and Renal Dialysis and Transplantation. This is really too ambitious in a book of 195 pages and results in a rather superficial treatment of many aspects. The Preface to this edition claims that there are major alterations to the text, but we found these to be relatively minor and the impression is gained that the more recent innovations in Intensive Therapy are not fully discussed. The use of Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation (IMV) is covered only sketchily, and the advice to use increased deadspace in spontaneously breathing patients during weaning from ventilation is not to be welcomed. The recommendation to pump air into i.v. bottles to speed the rate of infusion is not one which would be easily defended. The complete absence of any reference! is disappointing. This may prove a useful text for the inexperienced staff nurse or student nurse seeking an introduction to the subject, but would be of very limited value to those wishing to study intensive care nursing in more depth.
Since this review was written, it has been learnt that Dr Frank Wilson died suddently at the beginning of this year. This is a sad loss to anaesthesia, to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and to his family. OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED
Le Foie en Anesthesie et en Reammation. Journees d'enseigne-
ment post-universitaire de la Pitie-Salpctriere, 1979. Edited by C. Conseiller, J. M. Desmonts, P. Glaser, J. Montagne, G. G. Nahas, J. C. Salamagne, P. Viars and G. Vourc'h. Published 1980. Pp. 264; illustrated. Curares et Curarisation. Journees d'enseignement postuniversitairc de la Pitie-Salpetrierc, 1979. Edited by C. Conseiller, J. M. Desmonts, P. Glaser, J. Montagne, G. G. Nahas, J. C. Salamagne, P. Viars and G. Vourc'h. Published 1980. Pp. 384; illustrated.
Antibiotiques et Reammation Vasodilatalewrs el Insuffisance Ventriculaxre Gauche. Problemes actuels de reammation,
1980. Edited by J. J. Pocidalo and F. Vachon. Published 1980. Pp. 328; illustrated.
Photoset in Great Britain by John Wright & Sons Ltd, Bristol Printed and Bound m the United States of America by the William Byrd Press Int., Richmond, Virginia
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1981
782
Intensive Care for Nurses,3rd edn. Edited by D.B. Clarke and rationale for temperature monitoring of all anaesthetized A. D. Barnes. Published (1980) by Blackwell Scientific patients and will help to raise clinical standards. Publications. Pp. 195; illustrated; indexed. Price £6.75. F. R. Ellis
Isobel W. Cooper
J. G. Mom Body
Temperature
Control in Anaesthesia,
Surgery,
and
Intensive Care. By Anita Holdcroft. Published (1980) by Bailliere Tindall. Pp. 179; illustrated; indexed. Price £8.50. In view of the well-recognized changes in body temperature induced by anaesthesia, it is remarkable that this index is not monitored routinely by anaesthetists, especially as body temperature has been one of the prime variables faithfully recorded from all surgical patients by ward nurses. The importance of this lapse has been underlined by the ugly emergency of malignant hyperpyrexia (MH), yet although MH could provide the incentive, there is much more to be gained by temperature recording. Anita Holdcroft has written a short but detailed account of body temperature, its control, variation and value in surgical patients and in victims of exposure. The book is easy to read and is well organized with clear and useful illustrations. References are kept to a minimum and are restricted largely to more notable contributions over the past four decades. In the first chapter, which deals with physiological regulation of body temperature, the author has summarized many of the different hypotheses that have been used to explain this complex phenomenon. Her approach has been descriptive rather than mathematical, and she has ignored, perhaps wisely, the current accent on feedback mechanisms. It is unfortunate that the book was completed before the recent work on brown adipose tissue was reported, as this may provide a new dimension in the concepts of heat balance, even in adults. This book should be read by all anaesthetists as it contains much of practical value and interest. It provides a clear
Basic Resuscitation and Primary Care. By F. Wilson and W. G.
Park. Published by MTP Press Ltd. Pp. 339; illustrated; indexed. Price £9.95. This well-produced book is aimed at the newly qualified doctor end senior nursing p^i^^nnel. Tn the preface, the authors reveal at once that they are entirely hospital-orientated. Whilst this may be simple realism, to emphasize that "successful treatment during thefirst60 minutes, and very often thefirstfew minutes, is often vital in the saving of life", and then to ignore totally the movement towards pre-hospital care is a big disappointment. Another general criticism is the use of the word "Basic" in the title. We are told that this is to emphasize that the apparatus is simple and available in all hospitals and that discussion will be limited to the first hour following treatment. The book kept to these limitations, but strays way beyond the concept of "basic" in its scope. This reviewer found the layout difficult to follow. By dealing with specific conditions in the first section, the authors were faced with the choice of continually repeating themselves or omitting standard resuscitative procedures. Simple airway management does not appear until p. 203 and the advantages of the lateral or semi-prone position are ignored. Perhaps one of the problems of this book is its attempt to be all-embracing. The section on specific conditions ranges from cardiac arrest to malignant hyperpyrexia and from burns to pre-cclampsia. They are inevitably brief accounts, but nowhere are references given for further reading. Section II is a useful and well-written chapter but, again, is largely out of place in a book entitled Basic Resuscitation. It contains chapters on anaesthetic equipment, ventilators, i.v. anaesthetics and neuromuscular blocking agents which seem to be beyond the scope of basic resuscitation and certainly beyond the scope of newly qualified doctors and senior nursing staff. This is a disappointing book. The authors have much to contribute, but the contribution is made in a haphazard way to a wide variety of audience levels and without a coherent theme. J. S. M. Zorab
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at The University of British Colombia Library on July 2, 2015
Previous editions of this book were published in 1971 and 1975. As before, all the authors are medical and the absence of a nursing contributor is a valid criticism in a book aimed at nursing staff—a point acknowledged in the Preface to the First Edition. In addition to the usuai topics of Intensive Care Nursing, this small paperback attempts to cover Coronary Care, Paediatric Intensive Care and Renal Dialysis and Transplantation. This is really too ambitious in a book of 195 pages and results in a rather superficial treatment of many aspects. The Preface to this edition claims that there are major alterations to the text, but we found these to be relatively minor and the impression is gained that the more recent innovations in Intensive Therapy are not fully discussed. The use of Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation (IMV) is covered only sketchily, and the advice to use increased deadspace in spontaneously breathing patients during weaning from ventilation is not to be welcomed. The recommendation to pump air into i.v. bottles to speed the rate of infusion is not one which would be easily defended. The complete absence of any reference! is disappointing. This may prove a useful text for the inexperienced staff nurse or student nurse seeking an introduction to the subject, but would be of very limited value to those wishing to study intensive care nursing in more depth.
Since this review was written, it has been learnt that Dr Frank Wilson died suddently at the beginning of this year. This is a sad loss to anaesthesia, to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and to his family. OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED
Le Foie en Anesthesie et en Reammation. Journees d'enseigne-
ment post-universitaire de la Pitie-Salpctriere, 1979. Edited by C. Conseiller, J. M. Desmonts, P. Glaser, J. Montagne, G. G. Nahas, J. C. Salamagne, P. Viars and G. Vourc'h. Published 1980. Pp. 264; illustrated. Curares et Curarisation. Journees d'enseignement postuniversitairc de la Pitie-Salpetrierc, 1979. Edited by C. Conseiller, J. M. Desmonts, P. Glaser, J. Montagne, G. G. Nahas, J. C. Salamagne, P. Viars and G. Vourc'h. Published 1980. Pp. 384; illustrated.
Antibiotiques et Reammation Vasodilatalewrs el Insuffisance Ventriculaxre Gauche. Problemes actuels de reammation,
1980. Edited by J. J. Pocidalo and F. Vachon. Published 1980. Pp. 328; illustrated.
Photoset in Great Britain by John Wright & Sons Ltd, Bristol Printed and Bound m the United States of America by the William Byrd Press Int., Richmond, Virginia
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1981