Reviews

This book address uncommon problems as opposed to those commonly encountered in the intensive care arena. This is particular interest to the more experienced person working with in the intensive care environment who is likely to have good sound knowledge of conditions commonly occurring. The book is primarily aimed at clinicians working within intensive care, however it will be of interest to persons working within any critical care setting, be they at a junior or senior level: Nurses, Operating Department Practitioner's (ODP) or medical staff. This book will be a valuable resource for every clinical area encountering critically ill patients as it offers a single volume to access rather than a vast array of specialised texts or journal articles. The book follows an alphabetical, dictionary like format making conditions easy to look up. Entries include problems that may indeed be deemed unusual: Each condition is explained in a comprehensive yet understandable manner with the main point highlighted by use of bullet points. This makes the book extremely easy to read. In summary, a book that will be accessible and of use to a wide spectrum of persons, in a variety of critical care areas. Easy to read and an excellent resource. I did wonder whether a book on 'uncommon problems' in intensive care would be able to compete with the internet, given that most intensive care units in the UK have some form of internet access. The preface to this book states that it intends 'to be different', but that its aim was primarily to be useful. It is different, inasmuch as not many postgraduate books have cartoons liberally scattered throughout the text -some of which I found quite good! To review the book, I set aside two 3-h train journeys, and constant 'dip-ins' as problems appeared in the workplace. I began with a 'dip in' on botulism. My laptop was switched on. Within 5 min, I had more useful information from the internet than was available in the text, and it was also well sourced. The book lost. However, when I began my sessional reviews on the train, I yet again realized that paper still has the edge, even when trying to look up the unusual. This book is an A-Z of uncommon problems, with constant cross-referencing, some of it quirky, but all of it effective. The A-Z ranges from generality 'Hepatic diseases' listing a series of unusual illnesses, to the detail of relevant, unusual-for-ICU but expected illnesses, such as 'Mixed connective tissue disease', and the exotic 'Monkey bites' (via 'Bites and Stings'). The Australian authorship sometimes shines through ('Jellyfish envenomation'), but this adds to, rather than detracts, from the book. Entries occupy from a few centimetres to a couple of pages, with lists and boxes. Boxes run from column to column or over the page, ensuring easy flow and minimal use of space. I was sometimes surprised by the emphasis on some topics, with relative neglect of others: I would not have considered 'Acute pulmonary oedema' or 'Anaemia' to be uncommon problems, but the handling of topics like 'Vasculitis' partly restored my confidence. This unevenness did detract from my enthusiasm for the book, but overall, I was more than satisfied. The text was easy to fo.