Handbook for Stoelting’s Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease, 3rd Edition. Edited by Roberta L. Hines, M.D., and Katherine E. Marschall, M.D. Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009. Pages: 510. Price: $54.95.
This handbook accompanies the fifth edition of Stoelting’s Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease , containing the same topics and chapters as the main textbook. This format makes it easy to reference the textbook for more detailed information, while the handbook provides a concise, portable reference that is easy to use in the operating room. Written by 28 expert authors, the book is divided by organ system into 25 chapters.
Chapters 1–8 discuss ischemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, abnormalities of cardiac conduction and cardiac rhythm, systemic and pulmonary arterial hypertension, heart failure and cardiomyopathies, pericardial diseases and cardiac trauma, and vascular diseases. Major anesthetic considerations and hemodynamic goals are presented for patients with ischemic heart disease, stenotic and regurgitant valvular lesions, congenital heart disease, and rhythm abnormalities. A wide variety of vascular diseases, from abdominal aortic aneurysms to Takayasu’s arteritis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, and polyarteritis nodosa, are reviewed with several helpful tables that present signs, symptoms, and anesthetic considerations of these conditions.
The chapter on respiratory diseases, Chapter 9, includes helpful figures, such as both normal and abnormal spirometry and flow-volume curves, along with a review of the diagnostic and therapeutic considerations for both obstructive and restrictive lung diseases. Modes of mechanical ventilation and techniques for weaning from the ventilator are described in a concise, easy-to-read manner.
Chapter 10 is divided into three parts: diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord disorders, and diseases of the autonomic and peripheral nervous systems. Increased intracranial pressure, brain tumors, coma, brain death, cerebrovascular diseases, traumatic brain injury, and seizure disorders are discussed with a focus on anesthetic management. A section devoted to spinal cord disorders provides guidelines to the management of both acute and chronic spinal cord injury, including a section on autonomic hyperreflexia. Finally, autonomic disorders and peripheral neuropathies are discussed.
Chapters 11–22 are devoted to diseases of the liver and biliary tract; diseases of the gastrointestinal system; nutritional diseases and inborn errors of metabolism; renal diseases; fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base disorders; endocrine diseases; hematologic disorders; skin and musculoskeletal diseases; infectious diseases; cancer; diseases related to immune system dysfunction; and psychiatric diseases/substance abuse/drug overdose. Each chapter describes the most common diseases in each of these systems, along with their anesthetic considerations.
Chapter 23 discusses care of the obstetric patient, including the normal physiologic changes associated with pregnancy and options for obstetric anesthesia care. Complications, such as preeclampsia and obstetric hemorrhage, are reviewed, along with considerations for obstetric patients with coexisting medical diseases. Fetal assessment and common neonatal problems are discussed briefly.
Chapter 24 provides a relatively thorough review of pediatric anesthesiology with topics such as the physiologic differences between children and adults, guidelines for intraoperative fluid management and acceptable blood loss, and pharmacologic considerations in pediatric patients. Neonatal conditions, including respiratory distress syndrome, retinopathy of prematurity, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, tracheoesophageal fistula, omphalocele/gastroschisis, and pyloric stenosis, are reviewed with a focus on anesthetic management. Pediatric surgical conditions such as posterior fossa tumors, craniosynostosis, cleft lip/palate, mediastinal masses, and burn injuries are also discussed. In addition, there is an excellent review of malignant hyperthermia and masseter muscle rigidity, which incorporates several concise, easy-to-reference tables.
The final chapter of the handbook discusses geriatric disorders, with a helpful table describing the effects of aging on each organ system. Considerations for patients with both dementia and delirium are reviewed, as are ethical challenges in geriatric anesthesia.
Overall, this handbook is a compact, portable reference for questions and conditions most commonly encountered in anesthesia. One especially helpful feature of the book is the multitude of tables that present critical information in a concise format. These succinct tables quickly provide the anesthesiologist with the most important perioperative concerns and goals for patients with a wide variety of conditions. The handbook has been revised with current information, such as the recently updated guidelines for endocarditis prophylaxis. As a concise, easy-to-read handbook, this text is a valuable tool for experienced anesthesiologists, fellows, and residents to use in the operating room and preoperative clinic.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. kenyon.christine2@mayo.edu
