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Grave words: Notifying survivors about sudden, unexpected deaths
Grave Words: Notifying SurvivorsAbout Sudden, Unexpected Deaths Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, University of Arizona College of Medicine Galen Press Ltd., 1999, $38.95 Bibliographic data: ISBN: 1-88362-002-3. LCCN: 99-2120. LC: BF789.D4184. Country of origin: United States. Twenty-nine chapters, 342 pages, soft cover Descriptive notes: The book contains black and white illustrations.
Reviewer's Expert Opinion Description: This monograph is a description of the rationale for communicating effectively in the setting of unexpected death. Purpose: The purpose is to improve the communication skills of health care providers and provide a resource for survivors of sudden death episodes. Audience: Practitioners at all levels providing care in acute medical fields will benefit from this work. The author is a professor of surgery and a director of emergency medicine in the southwest United States. Features: Material is organized in the table of contents by pieces of the author's protocol for communication with and support of survivors in sudden death episodes. After relating his communication protocol, the author describes communication of sudden death experience in specific situations, including parents and children, ED death, obstetric problems, the EMS approach to death pronouncement and notification, military death notification, and disaster management.
Explanations are provided for the layperson for common medical catastrophes, including brain death, sudden infant death s y n d r o m e , and the issue of p o s t m o r t e m examination. References sometimes are anecdotal, and illustrations are absent. The lack of a more extensive reference list reflects the limited literature on this important subject. A brief index concludes this work. Assessment: This book fills a significant need in medical education and practice. As the author appropriately points out, such acute resuscitation protocols as advanced cardiac life support, basic life support, and advance trauma life support include little or no information on notification of death. This fact is remarkable because mortality rates in these situations are high. Not only does the author provide a clinically based tool that is easily read, he also provides an outline for an adult education program to teach others the principles of survivor support in sudden death situations. Reviewer: David J. Dries, MSE, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
Emergency Imaging Jeffrey R. Brooke, Jr., MD, Stanford University School of Medicine; Philip W. Rails, MD, University of Southern California School of Medicine; Ann N. Leung, MD, Stanford University Medical Center; Michael Brant-Zawadski, MD, FACR, Stanford University Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1999, $49.95 Bibliographic data: ISBN: 0-7817-1592-X. NLM: WN 180 E53. LCCN: 98-31217. LC: RC78.7.D53E44. Country of origin: United States. Twenty chapters, 208 pages, soft cover Descriptive notes: The book contains predominantly black and white illustrations, with some color illustrations.
Reviewer's Expert Opinion Description: This book provides an overview of emergency imaging topics with a focus on the most common and challenging clinical problems. Purpose: The book is intended to serve as a reference guide on common problems in emergency radiology. The authors' goals are to provide practical imaging solutions and discuss optimal imaging techniques and pitfalls. Audience: A concise and easy-to-use reference of this type is a valuable resource to radiology residents and practicing radiologists, particularly in the on-call setting. Features: The authors bring their extensive experience to the pages of this beautifully illustrated and well-organized book. Several chapters focus on frequently encountered patient symptoms, such as stroke, chest pain, trauma, and various
Air Medical Journal 19:1 January-March2000
types of abdominal pain. The layout of each chapter is consistent with sections on clinical overview, imaging strategy and techniques, findings, sensitivity and specificity data, differential diagnoses, and pitfalls. The book is practical and easy-to-read, and its only shortcoming is that, although intended to be concise, the discussions of imaging pitfalls sometimes are incomplete and too brief. Assessment: This well-written reference book offers an overview of the most common and challenging problems in emergency radiology. It is a valuable resource to residents and practicing radiologists because it is more concise and easier to use than other books of its kind. Reviewer: Debra S. Dyer, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
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Reviewer's Expert Opinion Description: This monograph is a description of the rationale for communicating effectively in the setting of unexpected death. Purpose: The purpose is to improve the communication skills of health care providers and provide a resource for survivors of sudden death episodes. Audience: Practitioners at all levels providing care in acute medical fields will benefit from this work. The author is a professor of surgery and a director of emergency medicine in the southwest United States. Features: Material is organized in the table of contents by pieces of the author's protocol for communication with and support of survivors in sudden death episodes. After relating his communication protocol, the author describes communication of sudden death experience in specific situations, including parents and children, ED death, obstetric problems, the EMS approach to death pronouncement and notification, military death notification, and disaster management.
Explanations are provided for the layperson for common medical catastrophes, including brain death, sudden infant death s y n d r o m e , and the issue of p o s t m o r t e m examination. References sometimes are anecdotal, and illustrations are absent. The lack of a more extensive reference list reflects the limited literature on this important subject. A brief index concludes this work. Assessment: This book fills a significant need in medical education and practice. As the author appropriately points out, such acute resuscitation protocols as advanced cardiac life support, basic life support, and advance trauma life support include little or no information on notification of death. This fact is remarkable because mortality rates in these situations are high. Not only does the author provide a clinically based tool that is easily read, he also provides an outline for an adult education program to teach others the principles of survivor support in sudden death situations. Reviewer: David J. Dries, MSE, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
Emergency Imaging Jeffrey R. Brooke, Jr., MD, Stanford University School of Medicine; Philip W. Rails, MD, University of Southern California School of Medicine; Ann N. Leung, MD, Stanford University Medical Center; Michael Brant-Zawadski, MD, FACR, Stanford University Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1999, $49.95 Bibliographic data: ISBN: 0-7817-1592-X. NLM: WN 180 E53. LCCN: 98-31217. LC: RC78.7.D53E44. Country of origin: United States. Twenty chapters, 208 pages, soft cover Descriptive notes: The book contains predominantly black and white illustrations, with some color illustrations.
Reviewer's Expert Opinion Description: This book provides an overview of emergency imaging topics with a focus on the most common and challenging clinical problems. Purpose: The book is intended to serve as a reference guide on common problems in emergency radiology. The authors' goals are to provide practical imaging solutions and discuss optimal imaging techniques and pitfalls. Audience: A concise and easy-to-use reference of this type is a valuable resource to radiology residents and practicing radiologists, particularly in the on-call setting. Features: The authors bring their extensive experience to the pages of this beautifully illustrated and well-organized book. Several chapters focus on frequently encountered patient symptoms, such as stroke, chest pain, trauma, and various
Air Medical Journal 19:1 January-March2000
types of abdominal pain. The layout of each chapter is consistent with sections on clinical overview, imaging strategy and techniques, findings, sensitivity and specificity data, differential diagnoses, and pitfalls. The book is practical and easy-to-read, and its only shortcoming is that, although intended to be concise, the discussions of imaging pitfalls sometimes are incomplete and too brief. Assessment: This well-written reference book offers an overview of the most common and challenging problems in emergency radiology. It is a valuable resource to residents and practicing radiologists because it is more concise and easier to use than other books of its kind. Reviewer: Debra S. Dyer, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
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