Trauma: Resuscitation, Perioperative Management, and Critical Care PDF

Preface

OVERVIEWOF BOTH VOLUMES

Trauma is the leading cause of death in the young (ages 1–44) in the United States and the chief reason for lost years of productive life among citizens living in industrialized countries. Despite the enormous importance of the subject matter, no single text has yet been published that fully covers all phases of trauma management.

The purpose of this book is to bring together in one source a description of modern clinical management principles for the care of the trauma patient. This two-volume set, Trauma, Volume 1: Emergency Resuscitation, Perioperative Anesthesia, Surgical Management and Trauma, Volume 2: Critical Care, thoroughly encompasses the entire spectrum of trauma management from the prehospital phase through critical care and rehabilitation.

A comprehensive table of contents, at the front of each volume, encapsulates the organization of the entire book (providing a macroscopic view), and also details the sections and sub-headings within each chapter (providing a microscopic view). The extensive index at the back of the book is organized to provide expeditious referral to specific pages that cover the subject matter of interest. The reader is encouraged to utilize both the very detailed table of contents and the index as needed to quickly locate topics.

Each chapter in this work incorporates important features that greatly enhance information communication and learning. The chapters are generously illustrated with figures and tables to facilitate synthesis of important concepts. In addition, key points are highlighted within the text and are summarized at the end of each chapter for quick review. Care has been taken to minimize redundancy by maximizing appropriate cross-referencing throughout. Another useful aspect of each chapter is the Eye to the Future section, which reviews emerging concepts and new research findings likely to impact clinical management.

The contributors to these volumes are both authoritative (having performed original research and authored numerous publications on their subject matter) and have extensive clinical experience. The authorship considered as a whole is truly international, with contributors from all continents. Furthermore, both civilian and military considerations are reviewed whenever relevant. The majority of chapters have multi-specialty co-authorship by experts in trauma surgery, trauma anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and numerous other medical and surgical specialties. In addition, chapters have multidisciplinary involvement by experts in physical medicine, rehabilitation, nursing, and pharmacy, among other disciplines. The scientific soundness is further insured by the multiple layers of editorial oversight; every chapter has been reviewed by at least three experts in the field (principal, associate and section editors). The high level of scientific accuracy and the reader-friendly nature of these two volumes are expected to facilitate learning in order to improve the care provided to trauma patients around the globe.

OVERVIEWOF VOLUME1

Volume 1 is divided into five sections and begins to tell the trauma story. Section A (Preparation and Prehospital Care) provides the background knowledge and prehospital concepts required to manage trauma patients in both civilian and military settings. Section B instructs the traumatologist on what must be accomplished and accomplished quickly in the trauma resuscitation suite. Section C explores the principles of anesthetic management for trauma, including preoperative evaluation, preparation, and monitoring, along with the decision-making processes employed for selecting general or regional anesthetic techniques in trauma patients.

Section D details the perioperative anesthetic and surgical priorities for specific injuries. This section focuses on the most important areas of management in a systematic fashion, including chapters on maxillofacial, brain, penetrating neck, cardiothoracic, and cervical and thoracic vertebral spine injuries, along with abdominal, pelvic, and extremity trauma. Each organ system receives specific focus as well as discussion within the context of the overall management strategy for severely injured patients.

Section E surveys the numerous trauma-associated conditions with important time-sensitive diagnostic and management considerations. This section includes discussions on the management of intoxication due to alcohol, drugs, poisoning, and envenomations. Anaphylaxis and allergy are discussed with specific implications for the trauma patient. Burn injuries are extensively reviewed, as are cold- and heat-related injuries, near-drowning, and weapons of mass destruction. In addition, the less frequently encountered trauma demographics (e.g., pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics) each have their own dedicated chapters. Finally, the pitfalls in trauma management and the elements constituting the tertiary survey are fully described.

The absolute necessity to begin at the beginning when learning trauma management, including the principles of prehospital care and initial resuscitation and perioperative management concepts, makes this volume a must reference for the serious traumatologist and all others involved in this phase of the trauma story.