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Emergency orthopaedics and trauma
lnjrrry Vol. 27, No. 7, p. 531, 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain ELSEVIER
Book review Injury, Vol. 27, No. 7,531,1996
Emergency Ortbopaedics
and Trauma. Andrew Unwin and Kirsten Jones. Oxford: Butterworth~e~nemann 0 7506 2034 X. E21.95,288 pp. 1995.
Trauma. 3rd edition. D, V. Feliciano, E. E. Moore and K. L. Mattox teds). Stamford: Appleton & Lange. 0 838 59010 1. E93.00,1280 pp. 1996.
This simple guide to acute orthopaedics is aimed at the casualty SHO. Unlike McRae in Pmctical Fmcftrre Treatment the authors emphasize simple decision making in the Casualty department. Sensibly they ignore in-patient care and instead include various non-traumatic conditions. Overall, this unique approach is successfulbut there are someweaknesses. The classicfractures and dislocationsare covered well. Management protocols are up to date and controversial topics are pointed out clearly. There are particularly good chapters on general fracture principles, methods of analgesiaand sedation,multiple injuries, head injury, knee . . . mluries, ankle fractures and foot injuries: all confusing subjects for casualty staff. The reader is guided through making a diagnosis towards making a decision as to whether, for instance, a patient should be referred immediately or can wait until the next fracture clinic. Common non-traumatic complaints are discussed,ranging from the late complications of total hip replacementsto a less helpful page about the limping child. Sections on spinal injuries correctly emphasize applied anatomy but are illustrated by fuzzy and unlabelled X-rays. Advice to repair nail-bed injuries with S/Onylon is one of few errors in the book. Medical textbooks are rarely read from cover-to-cover, so careful layout, imaginative illustrations, referencesand clear indexing are vital. It is in theseareas,I think, that this book is deficient. Despite a bright cover, the publishers have not used colour, there are no highlighted summaries of the text, there are no references, the index is just adequateand the illustrations are disappointing: X-rays are poorly reproduced (some uninterpretably) and the line drawings are sometimesunhelpful. However, the quality of the text is high and important points are emphasized clearly throughout. It is impossibleto write a book that satisfieseveryone. I found the text very readable,and the chapterswere satisfyingly concise. The philosophy of defining when to refer makes this book unique, and as such, it must be recommended to take a place amongst the battered collection on the Casualty department bookshelf.
The editors of this weighty tome intend this book to be a ‘one-stop comprehensive reference source that contains information on the entire continuum of trauma care’. Its 67 chapters are divided into six sections which cover care of the injured patient from the prehospital setting to the stage of rehabilitation and include comments on preventative le~slation and medicolegal aspects of trauma care. There are around 120 contributors but only two are from outside North America which understandably gives the book a certain bias. Inevitably, when a book tries to cover all aspectsof trauma well, it will fail to do so. Some chapters are very generalized with complications such as growth arrest following a paediatric fracture not rating a mention whilst others cover subjectsin great depth, for example, detailing drug dosagesfor resuscitationof children. The reader may become confused - is this book for general information or for describingspecificmanagementplans? The overall layout is good and many chapters contain a section on the historical perspective before discussing current controversies;a style which encouragesthe reader to look at chapters outside his sub-specialtyinterest. Some chapters are sparsely illustrated which makes the text a little dry to read, but in general the figures are interesting and informative. In order to avoid repeating information, the editors have crossreferencedthe chapters heavily, but this sometimesmeansthat the chapter appearsdisjointed. Depite these minor criticisms, the editors are to be congratulated on attempting to do the impossible;the book doessucceedin giving a good appreciation of all aspectsof trauma care including the management of specific problemsranging from injury of the great vesselsto multiorgan failure via battle casualties. Its North American viewpoint makes it a little less relevant for European readers,but it deservesa place on the book shelf of every self-respectingtrauma unit.
Deborah Eastwood
Ala&air
J. Graham
Printed in Great Britain ELSEVIER
Book review Injury, Vol. 27, No. 7,531,1996
Emergency Ortbopaedics
and Trauma. Andrew Unwin and Kirsten Jones. Oxford: Butterworth~e~nemann 0 7506 2034 X. E21.95,288 pp. 1995.
Trauma. 3rd edition. D, V. Feliciano, E. E. Moore and K. L. Mattox teds). Stamford: Appleton & Lange. 0 838 59010 1. E93.00,1280 pp. 1996.
This simple guide to acute orthopaedics is aimed at the casualty SHO. Unlike McRae in Pmctical Fmcftrre Treatment the authors emphasize simple decision making in the Casualty department. Sensibly they ignore in-patient care and instead include various non-traumatic conditions. Overall, this unique approach is successfulbut there are someweaknesses. The classicfractures and dislocationsare covered well. Management protocols are up to date and controversial topics are pointed out clearly. There are particularly good chapters on general fracture principles, methods of analgesiaand sedation,multiple injuries, head injury, knee . . . mluries, ankle fractures and foot injuries: all confusing subjects for casualty staff. The reader is guided through making a diagnosis towards making a decision as to whether, for instance, a patient should be referred immediately or can wait until the next fracture clinic. Common non-traumatic complaints are discussed,ranging from the late complications of total hip replacementsto a less helpful page about the limping child. Sections on spinal injuries correctly emphasize applied anatomy but are illustrated by fuzzy and unlabelled X-rays. Advice to repair nail-bed injuries with S/Onylon is one of few errors in the book. Medical textbooks are rarely read from cover-to-cover, so careful layout, imaginative illustrations, referencesand clear indexing are vital. It is in theseareas,I think, that this book is deficient. Despite a bright cover, the publishers have not used colour, there are no highlighted summaries of the text, there are no references, the index is just adequateand the illustrations are disappointing: X-rays are poorly reproduced (some uninterpretably) and the line drawings are sometimesunhelpful. However, the quality of the text is high and important points are emphasized clearly throughout. It is impossibleto write a book that satisfieseveryone. I found the text very readable,and the chapterswere satisfyingly concise. The philosophy of defining when to refer makes this book unique, and as such, it must be recommended to take a place amongst the battered collection on the Casualty department bookshelf.
The editors of this weighty tome intend this book to be a ‘one-stop comprehensive reference source that contains information on the entire continuum of trauma care’. Its 67 chapters are divided into six sections which cover care of the injured patient from the prehospital setting to the stage of rehabilitation and include comments on preventative le~slation and medicolegal aspects of trauma care. There are around 120 contributors but only two are from outside North America which understandably gives the book a certain bias. Inevitably, when a book tries to cover all aspectsof trauma well, it will fail to do so. Some chapters are very generalized with complications such as growth arrest following a paediatric fracture not rating a mention whilst others cover subjectsin great depth, for example, detailing drug dosagesfor resuscitationof children. The reader may become confused - is this book for general information or for describingspecificmanagementplans? The overall layout is good and many chapters contain a section on the historical perspective before discussing current controversies;a style which encouragesthe reader to look at chapters outside his sub-specialtyinterest. Some chapters are sparsely illustrated which makes the text a little dry to read, but in general the figures are interesting and informative. In order to avoid repeating information, the editors have crossreferencedthe chapters heavily, but this sometimesmeansthat the chapter appearsdisjointed. Depite these minor criticisms, the editors are to be congratulated on attempting to do the impossible;the book doessucceedin giving a good appreciation of all aspectsof trauma care including the management of specific problemsranging from injury of the great vesselsto multiorgan failure via battle casualties. Its North American viewpoint makes it a little less relevant for European readers,but it deservesa place on the book shelf of every self-respectingtrauma unit.
Deborah Eastwood
Ala&air
J. Graham