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This small and compact spiral bound book should not deceive. Designed for the general practitioner to a pain specialist it is full of very useful and practical methods for improving practices in pain management methods or for those interested in learning new methods for longer acting analgesia such as epidurals, infiltrative blocks and intra-articular analgesia.
This information dense book is co-authored by one of the most famous names in Anesthesia and Analgesia, Dr. William Tranquilli; with an easy to read format one can find particular information quickly. The book is broken down into six sections with the first explaining terminology, physiology, pain recognition and clinical strategies behind proper pain control. The second section focuses on drugs and their classifications, mechanisms of action, side effects, toxicity, contraindications and other drug interactions. The third section focuses on analgesic techniques with more complex forms of pain management that are organized with step-by-step tutorials which include: technique, materials needed, drugs and dosages, complications and contraindications as well as anticipated technical skill for those who will be performing the procedure. Section four has really nice considerations and example protocols for specific types of pain, such as trauma or pancreatitis. Chronic pain is addressed in section five and implementing pain management in ones practice is covered in section six.
The spiral binding allows for the book to lie flat and the graphics are excellent for finding anatomical landmarks that lend themselves useful in regards to technique. A bonus is the accompanying CD that provides demonstrations rather than just learning from the excellent illustrations, where one can play the procedure in action over and over until learned. This book is filled with well put together charts and tables that explain different types of drugs with dosages, duration, indications, and author comments.
Taken the trusted names of the authors and usefulness of the material presented, this book is an excellent addition to any practices library. Veterinarians and veterinary technicians alike can and will benefit from this text. Although best suited for a semi-experienced veterinary professional, it would be an easy and quick reference for veterinary educators to use; for this reason, the book is receiving 5 out of 5 stars.
Publisher: Teton-NewMedia (2004)
152 pages, spiral bound
ISBN: 1-59161-024-9
VIN Bookstore: Currently unavailable