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Book, Multimedia, and Software Reviews |
This book contains 15 chapters and is primarily organized using a systems approach with specific chapters on the cardiopulmonary, neurological, musculoskeletal, visceral organ, integumentary, and immunological systems. The book contains 2 helpful chapters related to medical monitoring of laboratory findings and equipment. Finally, the editors include 2 chapters that address oncology and transplantation, which are special topics and very useful to the acute care practitioner.
The majority of the chapters follow a common outline—they begin with a basic introduction on the function of the system that the chapter will cover. There is a brief description of common pathologies and medical management. At the end of the chapters there is a section that covers special topics specifically related to that chapter's content. These special topics include common infections, bariatric management, basic electrocardiogram interpretation, and medications commonly used for a specific medical dysfunction. The brief pharmacological information at the end of many of the chapters is an added bonus to this type of reference book, especially the inclusion of common side effects that the clinician should be aware of when treating a patient.
Many of the chapters contain a case study that emphasizes the details covered within the chapter. The case studies provide the reader with basic information and outcomes. However, the case studies might have been more helpful to the reader if the editors had offered their interpretation of the case, discussed the relevance of the medical findings, and provided more details about the intervention, thereby exposing the reader to expert clinical decision making that integrates evidence-based practice where available. Finally, the layout of the case studies follows the headings of the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, but the order makes it difficult to follow the clinical perspective of the case. For example, the cognitive information about the patient is provided after the other major systems, when mental status often is assessed early in the examination process. I believe that presenting the information in a clinically relevant order would be more helpful for the reader to visualize the clinical cases, particularly for the beginning practitioner.
Several of the chapters include rehabilitation sections and clinical tips from the experienced contributing authors and the editors. In particular, the oncology chapter does an effective job in providing the reader with some issues to consider and the general areas on which to focus in the rehabilitation process. Some of the other rehabilitation sections fall short in providing useful details to the clinicians to use as a quick guide in treating a patient. For example, in the integumentary chapter, the contributing author mentions the use of ultrasound and electrical stimulation in the management of wounds, but it would have been very helpful to include basic evidence-based treatment variables for modality application for the clinician to begin an intervention.
There are a few features of the text that distracted me from the depth of the context provided. The tables throughout the book contain a great deal of useful information, but the format of the tables made them difficult to read. In many cases, it took too much time to fully comprehend the table. There is a lack of information for the acute care clinician who is working with pediatric patients, information that would have made the book a more comprehensive reference across the life span. Some of the information is generic to the acute care setting, but each chapter should have addressed special topics in pediatrics and differences in management. Finally, there are a few factual errors within the book, such as the statement that the esophagus is anterior to the trachea. I suspect that such errors would confuse the student or beginning practitioner.
The book contains 2 helpful appendixes. There is an appendix that lists common abbreviations that will be helpful to any clinician practicing on a new service. The editors also include an appendix on practical and written competencies for a supervisor to model when assessing the staff therapist's ability to practice effectively in the acute care setting.
Overall, this book is a good reference for the acute care practice. The content of the book is well suited to beginning as well as experienced practitioners working in an unfamiliar service. Despite the confusing layout of many of the tables contained in this book, there were also many informative tables and a good system review and description of many common diagnoses. The book would complement many of the common ystem-specific textbooks used in education programs to incorporate acute care practice issues. Finally, the book may serve as a good reference for students who are completing their acute care affiliations.
C Wells, PT, PhD, CCS, ATC, is a part-time Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, and a Cardiopulmonary Clinical Specialist at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, MD
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