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This multidisciplinary book written by members of the Northwestern Medical School, Chicago, staff provides a comprehensive review of the care of the critically ill surgical patient. It mixes a discussion of physiologic principles with surgical techniques used in the intensive care unit. Each chapter has a good list of recent references.
Unit 1 deals with respiratory problems. The concise chapter on bronchial hygiene discusses an often neglected subject in critical care texts.
Unit 2 concerning cardiovascular crises starts out with a good review of basic physiology and the measurement of cardiac output. I think there should have been more discussion of derived hemodynamic measurements and their clinical application. Two chapters valuable to every surgeon deal with preoperative examination and postoperative care of the surgical patients.
Unit 3 encompasses general surgical care. The section on fluid balance and the clinical importance on hypoalbuminemia includes a well-documented discussion on the controversial role