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Book Reviews Indian Pediatrics 2002; 39: 119 |
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Book Reviews |
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Essentials of Pediatric Emergencies and Critical Care. Author: Suchitra Ranjit; Publisher: Paras Publishing, Hyderabad, 2001, Pages 334, Price Rs. 125/- The need for a handbook on Pediatric Emergencies and Critical Care is felt by all clinicians caring for sick children. The wide array of clinical problems that one may encounter in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) or the Emergency Room (ER) and the urgency with which they have to be managed leave no scope for delays or errors. Even when easy access to information is available on the Internet within the PICU/ER, a handbook has been found to be more useful by our resident doctors. It is in this context that the "Essentials of Pediatric Emergencies and Critical Care" is a welcome addition to the other texts available on the subject. All the major clinical conditions encountered in the medical PICU and ER have been included and arranged in a systematic manner. The first section covers subject like cardiopulmonary arrest, anaphylaxis, near drowning and trauma. Steps of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have been outlined point wise. However, some explana-tory notes in between these points would have made the basic understanding of these steps more clear. Similarly, details of intubation or bag mask respiration have not been included here. In the next section (Airway and Respiratory system) a full chapter has been devoted to endotracheal intubation but bag mask respiration has not received its due importance. The section on cardiovascular system disorder covers the subject of inotropes and vasodilators adequately. A table gives clear guidelines on selection of inotropes in septic and cardiovascular shock. However, one misses adequate details on clinical recognition of shock. Severe dehydration due to diarrhea is a commonly encountered problem in all parts of our country. The book recognizes this fact and a full chapter has been devoted to this problem. Again, adequate importance has been given to the common problem of hyponatremia with a simple algorithm. One would have expected a detailed chapter on acid-base disorders and interpretation of an acid-base-gas (ABG) report in the book. However, only metabolic acidosis finds a four page note. Dogbite does create an urgency in parents mind and they seek immediate medical help. Thus, inclusion of guidelines on management of dogbite in the section on poisoning and snake and scorpion bite is appropriate. An understanding of mechanical ventilation is possible only after explanation of basic principles and basic terminology. Detailed discussion on these subjects is obviously not possible in a handbook. Hence, only brief explanations in this book are understandable. The reader should find the section on ICU procedures useful but is also likely to miss separate sections on drug dosages and normative laboratory data. Krishan Chug, Head, Pediatric Intensive Care and Pulmonology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi 110 060, India. E-mail: [email protected] |
