Editorial Reviews -
Burn Care (Vademecum Series)
David J. Dries
This is a spiral bound manual of burn management. Emphasized are protocols for burn care from a major adult and pediatric burn program in the U.S. Practitioners at all levels may benefit from this work. The editors and contributors represent the University of Texas and Shriners burn programs in Galveston. This pocket-sized manual is organized into 12 chapters and 130 pages. The content is organized in the sequence of care for burn-injured patients with an overview of epidemiology followed by pre-hospital, resuscitation, wound management and anesthesia, critical care considerations, and special non-thermal injuries commonly treated in the burn center. Chapters are concise and well written. Occasional black-and-white line drawings reproduce well. Tables are employed to good effect. Each chapter concludes with a brief list of important references, most of which date to the mid 1990's with some as recent as one year prior to publication. The table of contents includes both chapter titles and subheadings and a two-page index concludes this work. This is a well-written and timely addition to the literature describing management of burn-injured patients. It complements the recent textbook, Total Burn Care (W. B. Saunders 1996) produced by the senior editor. This manual can be recommended for the clear writing style and the breadth of topic discussion, despite its relative brevity. The greatest distraction comes from a number of typographical errors and inconsistencies. Reference lists in each chapter could be lengthened to include additional key work, some of which originates in the editors' burn unit. For example, no references are provided for many of the woundclosure techniques and products discussed. Subsequent printings and editions should resolve these problems.
Reviewer: David J. Dries, MD(University of Minnesota Medical School)
Description: This is a spiral bound manual of burn management.
Purpose: Emphasized are protocols for burn care from a major adult and pediatric burn program in the U.S.
Audience: Practitioners at all levels may benefit from this work. The editors and contributors represent the University of Texas and Shriners burn programs in Galveston.
Features: This pocket-sized manual is organized into 12 chapters and 130 pages. The content is organized in the sequence of care for burn-injured patients with an overview of epidemiology followed by pre-hospital, resuscitation, wound management and anesthesia, critical care considerations, and special non-thermal injuries commonly treated in the burn center. Chapters are concise and well written. Occasional black-and-white line drawings reproduce well. Tables are employed to good effect. Each chapter concludes with a brief list of important references, most of which date to the mid 1990's with some as recent as one year prior to publication. The table of contents includes both chapter titles and subheadings and a two-page index concludes this work.
Assessment: This is a well-written and timely addition to the literature describing management of burn-injured patients. It complements the recent textbook, Total Burn Care (W. B. Saunders 1996) produced by the senior editor. This manual can be recommended for the clear writing style and the breadth of topic discussion, despite its relative brevity. The greatest distraction comes from a number of typographical errors and inconsistencies. Reference lists in each chapter could be lengthened to include additional key work, some of which originates in the editors' burn unit. For example, no references are provided for many of the wound closure techniques and products discussed. Subsequent printings and editions should resolve these problems.
Booknews
This handbook defines treatment techniques developed at one facility consisting of two burn units that treat children and adults respectively. The protocols are the same for both age groups unless otherwise specified. Each of the 12 chapters touches on the pathophysiology of the process in question, but the bulk of the information concerns the protocols. Topics include pre-hospital and emergency care, resuscitation, burn wound closure, anesthesia, nutrition, infections, multiple organ failure, inhalation injury, nonthermal burns, reconstruction, and daily work. Wolf and Herndon are professors of surgery at Shriners Burns Hospital and Blocker Burn Unit, U. of Texas Medical Branch. Spiral wire binding. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Rating
3 Stars from Doody