Recent Advances in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 23 (2006)

J. N. Cashman & R. M. Grounds , eds Cambridge University Press , ISBN: 1841101451 , £38.50, 226 pp This soft backed 23rd edition continues the well-known and popular review series of advances in anaesthesia and intensive care. It is short, easily transportable, and is divided neatly into 11 chapters highlighting different issues recently at the forefront of the two disciplines. Drs Cashman and Grounds have assembled a formidable collection of international contributors covering a broad spectrum of topics from basic sciences, emergency trauma management and intensive care. The contents include Pharmacogenomics, Opioid receptor and opioid peptides, Coagulation, Anaesthetic agents and myocardial protection, The treatment of heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction, Blunt chest trauma, Functional haemodynamic monitoring, Sepsis and the use of Xigris, Selective decontamination of the digestive tract, Glycaemic control and outcome in intensive care, Substance use disorders and anaesthesia. This edition, like the last, encompasses research from a large range of topics from different disciplines, as is required of the current practising anaesthetist. The target audience is not clearly defined in the preface but includes trainees pre and post FRCA, Consultant Anaesthetists and Intensivists. The chapters are laid out well with headings in a systematic order to guide the reader from the background and history of the topic to current day thinking and practice. Each chapter is well referenced, to guide more in-depth reading and to back up the extensive evidence base. The best chapters, holding one's attention throughout, are those which are less wordy, with less debate in the summaries, and better defined aims. This would apply to the intensive care topics and less to the basic sciences. Reading some of the chapters, there is a feeling that there is too much ongoing research and not enough firm conclusions to fit them into a 10-page chapter in a concise review book. They would be better discussed in a tome relating purely to that specific topic and consequently leave the reader a little baffled as to the actual take home message. There is also a lack of meaningful diagrams and tables to break up the discourse and help the reader structure the information. Such a format does not readily lend itself to those who wish to be selective in their approach. The value of this book depends on the perspective of the reader. Consultant anaesthetists and trainees wishing to update their knowledge efficiently will welcome the concise chapters such as those on coagulation, selective decontamination of the digestive tract and sepsis. Conversely, it is likely that expert readers who are interested in the controversies of a particular subject, e.g. functional haemodynamic monitoring, are likely to prefer to read the key original journal articles for themselves. It is an interesting volume to dip into, in the same way that one might flip through the pages of a journal, but it is unlikely that one's attention will be sustained for the whole book. In summary, this review is best used as a reference book in a department as opposed to a universal ‘must have’. It is very useful for the non-expert wishing to keep up to date and help prepare for talks as background reading.