Customer Reviews

Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

*Emergency Medicine, A Comprehensive Study Guide* has long been a well-regarded standard emergency text, useful in day-to-day practice as well as for board preparation. This new edition has advanced the enlightened 'evidence-based recommendations' for changes in practice patterns, however, the lack of editorial control has resulted in a book packed with conflicting information. Each chapter is written by a different consultant, and unfortunately not all of them are up on this concept... we therefore get a series of conflicting statements when there is overlap in topics, and there is no attempt to reconcile this variability. Admittedly, opinions in much of medicine do vary; but outright conflict within a few pages in a standard text without discussion does harm to credibility.

Further loss of editorial control is also evident on a close read. It is apparent that a spell-checker was used for proof-reading (substitutions of the nature of "week" for "weak" abound) and in some areas clinical formulae have been mis-stated -- example: calculation of effective osmolarity, pg. 1341 (though correct elsewhere in the book). The index seems somewhat disorganized, with references to isolated appearance of a word (example: see *first* reference listing to "hyperglycemia"... certainly not the definitive source in the text). This problem is not isolated.

The book has expanded by approximately 500 pages over the 4th edition, totalling more than 2000 pages. Its size makes it unwieldly to read or carry; it should have been separated into 2 volumes. Even with that expansion, much useful information is missing. Though descriptions of EKG abnormalities in advanced electrolyte disturbance are adequately described, it certainly would have been an informational asset to actually include a picture of such characteristic tracings. Dermatology is similarly poorly pictured -- there are only 8 pages of color illustrations in the text, with nearly 2 pages wasted on 1)technique of foreign body removal (not needed in color) 2)a color demonstration of SPECT data -- well outside the range of information needed for the E.M. specialist, and not definitive, besides. Even worse, the illustrations interspersed in the dermatology section are simply black and white copies of the color text -- providing only suboptimal repetition.

Bottom line: the *Comprehensive Study Guide* has been, and remains, a valuable text for an overview of the practice of emergency medicine; but either keep your 4th edition, or wait for the 6th.

As an Emergency medicine resident, the book is the centerpiece of my library. The new edition differs from the previous in the addition of two color text. Using two colors enables them to make the tables more readable. The text is longer than the previous edition. Each chapter is divided up into a short intro/description of normal, followed by etiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, treatment, then special considerations. The writing, as in the previous editions is concise and to the point. This text is priceless because it takes all the concepts and presents them in a clinically relevant way. This is very useful as a general review text, as well as a hands on while working text. Should be in all ED's as well as in all personal libraries of physicians who see patients in the emergency setting.

If you have the 4th edition, you must upgrade to this new edition. Gone are the poorly reproduced photographs in the last edition. Instead, there are many new tables, colour photos, and MANY new flowcharts. Every chapter is packed with new practical insights. For example, the asthma chapter has the actual American Thoracic Society guideline (not found in Harrison's). The abdominal pain chapter provides a new evidence-based approach to this difficult problem: it contains tables listing the likelihood ratio of each investigations for each diagnosis; and it questioned the importance WBC, bowel sound, abodminal X-ray, and (gasp!) rectal exam. The chapter on diarrhea discusses the origin of the myth that anti-motility agent and antibiotics are detrimental, but also provides new evidence for their safety in infectious diarrhea. The pneumonia chapter discusses the Fine's mortality risk scores for the decision of hospitilization (not seen in Harrison's either). The chapter in advanced resucitation includes a discussion of amiodarone and vasopressin in cardiac arrest. The unstable angina chapter contains the NHLBI risk classification. TIMI 14 and SPEED are discussed in the MI chapter. The list goes on and on.

In short, this book is a truly comprehensive review AND update of this exciting specialty. Even the seasoned ER physician will learn something new in this book.

Tintinalli's was a "go to" emergency medicine reference during my training years over a decade ago...

I purchased the 7th edition in it's Kindle form a month ago; and am happy with its content.

It is a formidable reference, over 2000 pages in its printed form. Such a vast reference really needs an index, especially if it is to be used at the point of care by an overworked clinician.

In electronic form, the index exists without hyperlinks or page location markers, making this reference unsearchable by this method.

I would give 5 stars if its index was hyperlinked, but for now I can't give it more than 3.

This book is a great textbook of emergency medicine, and I've chosen it over others simply because it's comprehensive without the useless drivel. Each section includes the necessary anatomy and pathophysiological considerations for the respective disoders. The subset of conditions are mentioned with just enough facts to understand the morbidity to treat it. The pictures, diagrams, algorithmic flow-charts, and drug regimens are a nice compliment, however, most of your clinical experience is going to come from interships and residency, so to assume this book is all you'll need to get by in EM is crazy. I still think it's the best out there to read before putting your mind to work.

I am very appreciative of all of the work that went into this book. It is superb in many ways. I owned the 4th edition and I see many, many improvements, not just that the book is being updated, but expanded and made better. HOWEVER, I have one relatively big complaint. There may be some who, at appropriate times, will read through this book cover to cover, or chapter by chapter - however, for many, many of us, the book is used as a reference source. HENCE the INDEX is a key component of the book. And here, the book loses a full star (or maybe two) - the index is simply not comprehensive. Two examples - "Ciguatera poisioning" - I looked under "ciguatera" under "fish" under "toxin" and under "food poisoning" - could not find it. I know it is in the book - there is a table that includes it as one of the sources of vomiting, but where is it? [I found the information I needed on the CDC website!!] Another example - "cecal volvulus" - looked under "volvulus" nothing. Under "cecum" - nothing. "Bowel obstruction" - nope. "Obstruction" nothing. "Small bowel obstruction" - finally found a reference in the index, but ultimately cannot find anything on cecal volvulus. I suspect that there MUST be something about volvulus in the Pediatric section on GI emergencies, but it should not be this hard, and I am not looking for a reference solely to children anyway. These are just two examples - I could offer many more. So, my humble suggestion - please work on the Index!! Isn't there a program that can do this relatively automatically - and painlessly? Information is great - quick ready access to that information is even better! Maybe I should just Google it? ;) Also, I have noticed some really lame illustrations - they look like mimeographed copies of copies - really hard to believe, especially since most of the illustrations are very high quality. In general I would like to see more illustrations within the text, particularly radiographic findings. The Color Atlas is kind of a joke, but there are many other sources for this kind of material.

If textbooks were judged by their weight, this one would be worth every penny of its purchase price. For better or worse, textbooks are judged by content and this one is lacking. The book itself is really a collection of articles on ER related topics from a variety of authors. The articles are repetitious, contain a lot of extraneous irrelevant information, and often conflict with one another. The antibiotic recommendations are hopelessly out of date. In general, a poorly written, poorly edited work which is a distant in the world of EM texts. Save your money.

Excellent book. This is a major textbook for my medical specialty, Emergency Medicine. This price is better than I can get through the American College of Emergency Physicians library.

I'm a emergency department Physician.
I like this book. I want a this book made of Kindle edition.
When can I buy Kidle edition of Tintinalli's Emergency medicine 7th.

This is the most convenient up to date textbook for daily practice in the EMergency department, especially for those working in rural and remote regions