Book Review

Clinical Anesthesia Practice

N Engl J Med 1995; 332:67January 5, 1995

Article

Clinical Anesthesia Practice
Edited by Robert R. Kirby and Nikolaus Gravenstein. 1457 pp., illustrated. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994. $85. ISBN: 0-7216-3328-5

During the past few years, several excellent and comprehensive textbooks of anesthesiology have been published. However, this one takes a different approach by discussing the practice of anesthesia in a single volume with an emphasis on clinically relevant, practical aspects.

The first two thirds of the book consists of 54 succinct chapters, each focusing on a fundamental element of anesthetic care; these topics include timely issues such as risk and outcome analysis as well as such basics as the airway, clinical monitoring, and pharmacologic considerations. The chapters devoted to perioperative consultations are particularly informative, since this material has generally not been presented equally clearly in other textbooks. The question-and-answer format makes these chapters easy to use for the clinician who is attempting to find information relevant to a specific problem.

The 26 chapters that follow are devoted to anesthesia for particular types of surgery or patient groups and to subspecialties of anesthesia. The pertinent anatomical, physiologic, pharmacologic, and anesthetic considerations in each situation are covered, but the authors do not attempt to provide encyclopedic information. Instead, they present a practical approach to particular problems, including styles of practice the authors have personally found useful. This individual perspective in some areas needs to be taken into consideration when one is obtaining recommendations for patient care from this book.

The editors have made an effort to ensure that the book contains timely information on contemporary topics such as outpatient surgery and pain management in adult and pediatric patients. Tables and figures present information in a useful way. It is often difficult to distill this information from more expansive textbooks. This method of presentation makes the book very helpful to clinicians who need a quick answer for a particular clinical situation.

Although other textbooks of anesthesia may be more comprehensive, Clinical Anesthesia Practice is an excellent guide to clinical practice. Its format will be especially helpful to physicians in training or to clinicians who need to refresh their knowledge about a specific clinical situation quickly.

Angela M. Bader, M.D.
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115