Anesthesiology, 9th ed (1995)

Anesthesiology, 9th ed., Thomas J. DeKornfeld and Theodore J. Sanford, Jr., eds. East Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange, 1995, ISBN 0-8385-0256-3, 351 pp, $39.95. Numerous anesthesiology question-and-answer books are currently on the market. As a graduating resident taking the Boards this year, this reviewer finds these types of books very useful in preparation for examinations. They offer the reader a chance to practice answering test questions; they provide answers and explanations that serve as an information source; and they can serve as a study resource on subspecialty rotations. Anesthesiology, 9th Edition is similar to the other question-and-answer books in its content, organization, and scope. The book is 351 pages with 22 chapters. The first five chapters cover basic science topics pertinent to our field: anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and physics. The following 15 chapters address the anesthesia for each of the surgical subspecialties (i.e., general surgery, ophthalmology, urology, transplant). Finally, there is a chapter on intensive care issues and one on medicolegal and ethical issues. The text is the product of 15 contributors, and a total of 47 references are cited. As is frequently the case when there are multiple contributors, variation between sections exists. For example, some of the basic science chapters concentrate too much on certain areas (8 of 23 questions in the physiology section are on endocrinology) at the expense of addressing more fundamental topics (1 of 23 questions in the physiology section is on cardiac physiology). On the other hand, the chapters on obstetric and pediatric anesthesia seem to be more global in their coverage of the subject and concentrate less on minutia. The depth of the explanations also varies from addressing only the correct answer to providing a more detailed discussion of the subject at hand. The latter style is more helpful and is, by and large, that which is employed throughout the book. Chapters unique to this book are those on anesthesia for transplant, ENT, plastic and ophthalmologic surgery, as well as a much needed chapter on medico-legal and ethical issues. Although the authors have made every effort to thoroughly verify the answers to the questions and state "some inaccuracies and ambiguities may occur," this text has numerous errors. Most are a result of answer-explanation disagreement and could have been avoided with additional proofreading. This is a problem common to most of the question-and-answer books but is nevertheless frustrating for the reader. Numerous references are cited to help the reader reconcile inaccuracies and ambiguities. Although the references add to the completeness of the review, many are not readily available. For example, the texts Evoked Potentials, Plastic Surgery, and Cardiopulmonary Bypass: Principles and Practice are probably not in most resident's libraries. A more user-friendly reference list would include only a few of the basic but comprehensive texts such as Anesthesia (ed. Miller) or Clinical Anesthesia (ed. Barash et al.). Aside from organizing the chapters by surgical subspecialties, Anesthesiology has little new to offer the world of question-and-answer Board preparation books. At $39.95 for 610 questions, there are certainly more questions for the money out there. Erick S. Allen, MD Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah and Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City, UT 84132