Essential Emergency Procedures, Second Edition

Abstract

Although the Internet has undoubtedly enabled many advances in patient care, it sometimes provides too much information, and an emergency physician seeking a quick procedure refresher must often wade through the overabundance of information lying only a click away. The well-written and succinct Essential Emergency Procedures solves this problem for 92 common emergency medicine procedures by providing the information Goldilocks would have wanted—not too much, not too little, but just the right amount. The peer-reviewed book achieves its goal of providing a practical guide that will be immediately useful for the busy emergency physician. At 428 pages, this second edition of Essential Emergency Procedures can reasonably be kept in a work bag for quick reference. Purchase of the book includes an even more portable e-book that can be viewed online or by tablet and smartphone. The e-book allows highlighting and electronic note taking. As for organization, procedures are grouped into sections by body systems. The book is written in easy-to-read bullet format and generally includes for each procedure sections about indication, contraindication, supplies, technique, aftercare, complications, and safety and quality tips. The 92 featured procedures reflect most of the procedures an emergency physician will perform clinically. They cover the gamut of complexity, from simple suturing and nursemaid's elbow reduction to truly emergency procedures such as pericardiocentesis, thoracotomy, and perimortem cesarean section. Reflecting the evolution of emergency medicine, this book also includes information on video laryngoscopy, therapeutic hypothermia, and a wide range of ultrasonographic applications, including echo, focused assessment with sonography in trauma, guided arthrocentesis, and venous access. Essential Emergency Procedures allows busy practitioners to rapidly find relevant information to guide a specific procedure. It remains thorough while minimizing extraneous information. The end of each chapter contains helpful safety and quality tips, with both procedural and cognitive sections, to remind clinicians of practical and overarching concepts. In terms of content, the book is particularly strong in covering a wide range of orthopedics and critical care procedures. And although they are not typically viewed as procedures, including the common Dix-Hallpike test and Epley maneuver makes for an even more useful reference. Given the above, this book leaves little to criticize. As is commonly the case with procedure guides, more pictures and diagrams would have been helpful (although too many more could make it unwieldy for practical use). Given the breadth of procedures covered, a dedicated splinting chapter was a surprising omission. The chapters on regional nerve blocks are particularly well done, although occipital and intercostal nerve blocks for pain control do not seem common enough to warrant inclusion. Finally, one easy improvement for the next edition would be directions or links to videos, which, time permitting, are always helpful options to augment procedural texts. If you are new to emergency medicine or need a comprehensive guide, especially for unusual or exotic procedures, this book will not replace more robust texts such as Roberts and Hedges' Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine. But Essential Emergency Procedures fills a valuable niche: quick and thorough review of the most common procedures. And at less than half the cost of a comprehensive text, it provides excellent value. The bottom line is that busy practitioners who add Essential Emergency Procedures to their libraries will aid procedure confidence and competency in today's fast-paced emergency department environment.