High Altitude Medicine and Physiology, 4th edn

Abstract

The introductory chapter on the principles of emergency medicine includes a helpful section on sedation and general anaesthesia with important guidance for the discharge of patients who have received sedative drugs in the emergency department. Following an outline of the management of major trauma and multiple injuries, the text proceeds in a logical anatomical manner through injuries to the head, face and neck: the trunk (including chest and abdomen) and upper and lower limbs, with a separate chapter covering the hand. Cardiac arrest, chest pain, respiratory distress, collapse and sudden illness are followed by abdominal pain, obstetric, gynaecological, genito-urinary and perineal problems before moving on to sensitively constructed chapters on children's problems, disturbed patients and medicolegal aspects of emergency medicine. The penultimate chapter on small wounds and localised infections emphasises that 'small does not mean trivial' and covers a comprehensive field including transmission of blood-borne viruses very succinctly. The concluding section covering ophthalmic, ENT and dental conditions together with facial pain reminds us that over 5% of emergency department attendances involve eye-related problems. The comprehensive index extends over 20 pages and helpfully has separate itali-cised entries referring to figures and tables. Although aimed at undergraduates, junior doctors on foundation programmes, trainees in accident and emergency medicine , and doctors and nurses in the primary care setting, there is little doubt that this book will have a wider interest for those in early years surgical training and for more senior colleagues wishing to update themselves in the management of patients presenting with acute conditions outside their immediate field of specialist expertise.