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Publisher: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.

Also available online at www.jaypeebrothers.com

Manual of ICU Procedures

Synopsis

Performing procedures in critically ill patients carries an important risk. These patients have little physiological reserve and any complication, even if minor, can develop into life-threatening consequences.

Education, training, and the practice of safety checklists are important pillars that can support the critical care provider in decreasing the risk of complications, increasing effectiveness and proficiency. Enhancing communication strategies between team members in a multidisciplinary fashion is pivotal.

Early escalation and inclusion of all critical care practitioners in the decision making is also desirable. Nurses, pharmacists, advanced care providers, physicians in training, and intensivists of different disciplines need to be involved when creating safe practices and guidelines.

The book Manual of ICU Procedures is a very comprehensive review of hands-on techniques for the intensivist. It describes in detail how to perform procedures at the bedside, and it has recent literature quoted. It can be a very useful tool in every intensivist’s armamentarium. I enjoyed reading the book. I believe it is very valuable for intensivists of any background.

The manual is an inclusive, step-by-step guide on “how to” perform procedures in the intensive care. The book is divided into four anatomical sections, and a final miscellaneous section. The anatomical sections include airway and respiratory, vascular and cardiac, neurological, gastrointestinal, abdominal, and genitourinary procedures. The chapters start with a review of the basic principles before describing the procedures in detail. The graphics include 428 pictures and illustrations that add clarity to the written explanations of each section.

About the Author

The author is Mohan Gurjar, MD PDCC FICCM, Associate Professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has the expertise necessary to lead this effort, which is shown in the amount of detail that the book provides.

Content

It is very comprehensive and has accurate and detailed descriptions of procedures. The content is of high quality and suitable for providers treating critical care patients at any stage in their careers. The sections by being divided into anatomical distributions help the reader when reaching for a specific procedure of interest.

Style

This book is easy to read, and has many pictures and diagrams that add to the visual quality. I, in particular, enjoyed the step-by-step descriptions; this can be used as a teaching tool in many stages of training.

Merit

I believe the merit of this book is the unique message it conveys. While describing procedures for the critically ill, it also encourages bringing critical care to any location where the patient in need might be.

Limitations

Being a very comprehensive review of invasive procedures, it has left out all the noninvasive methods for fluid status management. These procedures, although with less complication rates, are still important for the intensivist. Ultrasound for pleural, lung, and cardiac evaluation has become in many units the standard of care for guiding therapy in the hypotensive patient. The use of esophageal Doppler and arterial line waveform analyses are also important topics excluded in the book.

Although it was written by intensivists of different disciplines, all authors are from India. Perhaps, an international focus can enhance the reach of this text as well as bring to light how the same disease process can be treated differently in places with a diverse set of resources.

Summary

Overall, a great read. Well organized and good illustrations. Written by experts in a manner that is very clear.