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Ultrasound—A Practical Approach to Clinical Problems, 2nd edition
Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences
Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences 40 (2009) 48-49
Journal de l’imagerie médicale et des sciences de la radiation
www.elsevier.com/locate/jmir
Book Review
UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems, 2nd edition Edward I. Bluth, Carol Benson, Philip W. Ralls, Marilyn J. Siegel Publisher: Thieme Medical Publishers Inc., New York, NY, 2007 ISBN: 978-3-13-116832-0 Reviewed by: Anne Andrew, MEd, RDMS, RDCS, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, BC Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems (2nd ed.) provides an extensive overview of the clinical utility of ultrasound as used in the abdomen, male genital tract, female pelvis, pregnancy, and vascular system, and in paediatrics. The text approaches each area from the perspective of a clinical question to be resolved. The primary audience for this text is clinicians charged with setting a diagnostic pathway for patients in any given situation. It assumes a strong background in normal anatomy, physiology, and imaging techniques; as a result, these areas are not covered. Other health care providers such as residents, sonographers, and sonologists will also benefit from the practical information presented in this text. Health care educators will also find this book useful as a way to update their knowledge of current practice. The clinical problem-solving approach is interesting in that it mirrors practice for clinicians, sonographers, and sonologists. Identification of the clinical question in each situation enables clinicians to ensure that the most appropriate tests are ordered to provide the most benefit to the patient. It enables sonographers to focus on the area of most interest. This text walks the reader through common differential diagnoses for each clinical situation, focussing on the most likely scenarios for any given patient. The limitations of ultrasound in some situations are articulated, as is the inclusion of correlative imaging and other testing modalities, as appropriate to make each situation complete. Image quality in this text is superb. The resolution and detail shown in the two-dimensional ultrasound images is
1939-8654/09/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2008.11.001
excellent. The images are relevant to the text and well labelled. Many of the contributors include Doppler and three-dimensional images, pathology specimens, and correlative imaging to tie together all the clinical and sonographic findings. This is a strength of the book. There is an extensive list of contributing authors. As a group, they are very well respected within the imaging community as leaders in their field. They are widely published and speak at national and international meetings. Their expertise shows in this text through their ability to break down complex situations into a manageable set of clinical questions to resolve. Each chapter includes an extensive reference list. The references are current and from a wide selection of well-recognized, peer-reviewed journals and texts. Some of the authors cite their own work or that of other contributing authors from this book. The scope of this large hard cover text is broad. Smaller soft cover books by the same authors are also available. These books focus on vascular disease and urology. The chapters in these versions are all available in the larger book reviewed here. UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems is well written and illustrated. It provides practical advice on the identification of diagnostic pathways in commonly encountered patient situations. I believe that this book or the smaller, more focused texts will be useful additions as reference texts to any medical imaging department library for clinicians, imagers, and educators.
Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences 40 (2009) 48-49
Journal de l’imagerie médicale et des sciences de la radiation
www.elsevier.com/locate/jmir
Book Review
UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems, 2nd edition Edward I. Bluth, Carol Benson, Philip W. Ralls, Marilyn J. Siegel Publisher: Thieme Medical Publishers Inc., New York, NY, 2007 ISBN: 978-3-13-116832-0 Reviewed by: Anne Andrew, MEd, RDMS, RDCS, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, BC Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems (2nd ed.) provides an extensive overview of the clinical utility of ultrasound as used in the abdomen, male genital tract, female pelvis, pregnancy, and vascular system, and in paediatrics. The text approaches each area from the perspective of a clinical question to be resolved. The primary audience for this text is clinicians charged with setting a diagnostic pathway for patients in any given situation. It assumes a strong background in normal anatomy, physiology, and imaging techniques; as a result, these areas are not covered. Other health care providers such as residents, sonographers, and sonologists will also benefit from the practical information presented in this text. Health care educators will also find this book useful as a way to update their knowledge of current practice. The clinical problem-solving approach is interesting in that it mirrors practice for clinicians, sonographers, and sonologists. Identification of the clinical question in each situation enables clinicians to ensure that the most appropriate tests are ordered to provide the most benefit to the patient. It enables sonographers to focus on the area of most interest. This text walks the reader through common differential diagnoses for each clinical situation, focussing on the most likely scenarios for any given patient. The limitations of ultrasound in some situations are articulated, as is the inclusion of correlative imaging and other testing modalities, as appropriate to make each situation complete. Image quality in this text is superb. The resolution and detail shown in the two-dimensional ultrasound images is
1939-8654/09/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2008.11.001
excellent. The images are relevant to the text and well labelled. Many of the contributors include Doppler and three-dimensional images, pathology specimens, and correlative imaging to tie together all the clinical and sonographic findings. This is a strength of the book. There is an extensive list of contributing authors. As a group, they are very well respected within the imaging community as leaders in their field. They are widely published and speak at national and international meetings. Their expertise shows in this text through their ability to break down complex situations into a manageable set of clinical questions to resolve. Each chapter includes an extensive reference list. The references are current and from a wide selection of well-recognized, peer-reviewed journals and texts. Some of the authors cite their own work or that of other contributing authors from this book. The scope of this large hard cover text is broad. Smaller soft cover books by the same authors are also available. These books focus on vascular disease and urology. The chapters in these versions are all available in the larger book reviewed here. UltrasounddA Practical Approach to Clinical Problems is well written and illustrated. It provides practical advice on the identification of diagnostic pathways in commonly encountered patient situations. I believe that this book or the smaller, more focused texts will be useful additions as reference texts to any medical imaging department library for clinicians, imagers, and educators.