Smith and Aitkenhead’s Textbook of Anaesthesia, 7th ed

“Smith and Aitkenhead’s Textbook of Anaesthesia” provides an up-to-date review of the field of anesthesia and its subspecialties. It offers an in-depth overview of the basic knowledge and practical considerations required to administer safe anesthesia across a full range of surgical conditions in patients with commonly encountered medical comorbidities. The textbook also provides essential perioperative management topics in intensive care medicine, chronic pain management, patient safety, and quality assurance. This large volume of information is artfully presented in a logical, streamlined approach in 48 chapters consisting of nearly a thousand pages. The authors extensively utilize colored line drawings, diagrams, and cross-references to make the material easy to follow. The textbook content is heavily influenced by the United Kingdom’s postgraduate anesthetic examination syllabus. The electronic version of the textbook provides access to practice questions and answers in each chapter, which are formulated to prepare the readers for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) examination. All 3 editors and most of the 64 contributors are from the United Kingdom, with 30 new contributing authors in this seventh edition. This is important to note because the UK practice parameters are similar but not identical to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) practice guidelines. For example, The Difficult Airway Society algorithm for the management of the unanticipated difficult airway has some differences when compared with that of the ASA. Also, some drugs have different names in the United Kingdom (adrenaline) when compared with the United States (epinephrine). We doubt that the differences in drug names will create any challenges to the reader. This book consists of 4 sections. The first 2 sections, Basic Sciences and Physics and Apparatus, detail the knowledge foundation for the readers. The latter 2 sections, Fundamentals of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine and ClinicalAnesthesia, engage the readers with the practical aspects of anesthesia applications. The first section, Basic Sciences, includes 14 chapters. Pharmacology and physiology are the major themes in this section. The authors present the general principles of pharmacology first, followed by a review of the most commonly utilized anesthesia medications: inhalational, intravenous and local anesthetic agents, sedatives, pain medication, muscle relaxants, and antiemetics. Physiology-related chapters describe cardiac, respiratory, and renal systems, as well as the physiology of pain and muscle function. Chapter 2 Data, Statistics and Clinical Trials is a new addition to this edition and is presented early in the book, highlighting the importance of understanding medical statistics as an essential tool to understand and review clinical studies. The second section provides an essential overview of the basic physics required for the safe conduct of anesthesia, followed by a chapter dedicated to anesthesia machines and their components including breathing systems, ventilator types, and an overview of safety features in modern anesthesia machines. The third and last chapter of this section captures the different modalities of perioperative monitoring and measurement in an organized fashion with an appreciated use of summary tables. The third section, Fundamentals of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, includes a comprehensive range of topics essential to perioperative anesthesia management spanning from Preoperative Assessment and Premedication to Postoperative and Recovery Room Care. The cornerstones of anesthesia practices are highlighted in this section, including chapters on Airway Management, Pain, Regional Anaesthetic Techniques, and Resuscitation. The newly added chapter Management of Critical Incidents (chapter 27) is presented in a bulletin-points written style, providing the readers with a cognitive aid during real-time crisis management. Chapter 22 Practical Conduct of Anesthesia attempts to provide a summary overview of the conduct of anesthesia. With the exception of the section on patient positioning that provides practical illustrations of different patient positions, this chapter may serve as an introduction/primer for medical students who want to learn the basics and practical sequence and conduct of operative anesthesia. Section 4 Clinical Anaesthesia starts with anesthesia considerations for high-risk surgical patients, followed by chapters discussing geriatric, obese, and pediatric patients. The following 11 chapters are devoted to anesthesia for different subspecialties and are presented in an efficient, effective, relevant, practical, and organized approach. Chapter 45 Anaesthesia in Resource-Poor Areas is a brand-new chapter, which adds a needed perspective to the global anesthesia practice. “Smith and Aitkenhead’s Textbook of Anaesthesia” is a perfect first textbook for the trainee anesthetists in the United Kingdom who are preparing for their FRCA examination. The textbook is heavily influenced by the UK’s FRCA examination syllabus. Because of its comprehensive contents and easy-to-read presentation style, it can also be a practical day-to-day reference book for training and practicing anesthesiologists worldwide, especially in countries influenced and following an FRCA-style examination format. In contrast, the large number of anesthesia textbooks more specifically geared toward the American Board of Anesthesiology content outline makes this textbook less suitable for candidates pursuing their American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) certification. Mi Wang, MDMaged Y. Argalious, MD, MSc, MBA, MEd, FASE, FASADepartment of General AnesthesiologyAnesthesiology InstituteCleveland ClinicCleveland, Ohio[email protected]