Handbook of Clinical Anaesthesia, Fourth Edition
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Hany ElbarougyHandbook of Clinical Anaesthesia, Fourth Edition
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Hany Elbarougy- Book Review: Handbook of Clinical Anaesthesia, Fourth Edition
Can J Anesth/J Can Anesth (2019) 66:134–135
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BOOK AND NEW MEDIA REVIEWS
Handbook of Clinical Anaesthesia, Fourth Edition
Brian J. Pollard, Gareth Kitchen (Eds). CRC Press; 2017, 784 pages. Kindle edition:
$125.70 CAD, hardcover: $306.2 CAD, paperback: $126.70 CAD. ISBN-10: 1498762891,
ISBN-13: 978-1498762892
Is’haq Al Aamri, MD, BHSc
Received: 2 August 2018 / Accepted: 2 August 2018 / Published online: 22 August 2018
Ó Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society 2018
The Handbook of Clinical Anesthesia, Fourth Edition the airway, equipment and monitoring, general techniques,
offers senior trainees and practicing anesthesiologists a regional techniques, and management problems. The latter
concise review of current anesthesia practice. It was chapter reviews an extensive range of topics including
originally published in 1996, and the last edition various intraoperative emergency crises that require
appeared in 2011. It is a multi-authored textbook with attention (e.g., malignant hyperthermia/ neuroleptic
contributions exclusively from the United Kingdom (UK). malignant syndrome, bronchospasm, local anesthetic
The book is organized into three sections. The first toxicity, total spinal anesthesia, TURP syndrome, allergic
section, Patient Conditions, consists of nine reaction, embolism, and Advanced Cardiovascular Life
chapters dedicated to various organ systems. These Support), fluid and electrolyte balance (including blood
chapters cover the respiratory, cardiovascular, central transfusion), patient positioning, awareness, delayed
nervous, and endocrine systems; the genitourinary and awakening, robotic surgery, major trauma, pacemakers,
gastrointestinal tracts; blood, bone, and joints; and electroconvulsive therapy, pseudocholinestrase deficiency,
connective tissue disorders. Each chapter reviews the elevated intracranial pressure/cerebral blood flow control,
relevant disease processes, including epidemiology, robotic surgery, and transfer of the critically ill patient.
pathophysiology, disease burden, and ongoing clinical Editors Pollard and Kitchen offer a concise summary of
management, concluding with patient optimization for anesthesia care in this Handbook. The chapters conclude
anesthesia and surgery. with a small number of references for additional
The second section, Surgical Procedures, consists of 14 information, and overlapping topics are identified as
chapters covering abdominal, gynecologic, obstetric, ‘‘cross references’’ to help link the information. Given its
thoracic, cardiac, vascular, ophthalmic, ear nose and scope, the book is appropriately comprehensive. Its
throat, head and neck, plastic surgery, as well as exclusive UK authorship of this text, however, makes it
neurosurgery, orthopedics, urology, transplantation, and somewhat awkward for use by North American anesthesia
pediatrics. Each chapter reviews specific anesthetic providers. For instance, acronyms (e.g., HDU = high
considerations, including preoperative assessment and dependency unit), drug names (e.g., paracetamol vs
optimization; perioperative management including acetaminophen), and regulatory bodies (e.g., AAGBI =
intraoperative anesthesia care; and postoperative issues Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland)
including pain control. In addition, each chapter reviews may not be familiar to North American readers. Moreover,
the advantages and disadvantages associated with the drugs that are commonly used in the UK may not be
various types of anesthesia care offered (i.e., general, currently in use in North America (e.g., ‘‘thiopental is the
neuraxial, regional, local, and/or intravenous sedation). drug most commonly used for induction in the UK’’). A
The third section, Anesthetic Factors, is divided into six notable shortcoming is the lack of color in the text’s
chapters that cover the topics of preoperative assessment, photographs, tables, algorithms, and illustrations so that
key messages may not be clearly emphasized. The
I. Al Aamri, MD, BHSc (&) Techniques (regional) chapter briefly summarizes only
McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada basic information, and important details, such as
e-mail: [Link]@[Link]
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Handbook of Clinical Anaesthesia 135
anatomical illustrations, optimal drug dosing, and delivery care. Nevertheless, a future edition would do well to
systems, are not provided. Moreover, although allusions to address the difficulties that anesthesia providers trained
ultrasound are made, no ultrasound images are provided. outside the UK may encounter while using this textbook.
Also, the book advertises as a ‘‘Handbook’’, although its Moreover, the basic nature of the accompanying graphics
relatively large size (25 9 20 cm, 1.6 kg) suggests (black and white, only) requires updating along with
otherwise. consideration to incorporate web-based learning and
In conclusion, this Handbook of Clinical Anaesthesia, multimedia content.
Fourth Edition is a well-organized, easy-to-read product
suitable for trainees in anesthesia and practicing Conflicts of interest None declared.
anesthesiologists looking for a clinical reference that
Editorial responsibility This submission was handled by Dr.
efficiently covers key concepts. I would recommend this Hilary P. Grocott, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.
high-yield book to practitioners seeking to build and
maintain a foundation of knowledge in clinical anesthesia
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