Manual of ICU Procedures

Manual of ICU Procedures. Mohan Gurjar, Arvind Kumar Baronia (eds). Jaypee Brothers, New Delhi, 2016. 717pp, price not mentioned. ISBN 978–93–5152–422–9.

This book is a landmark, new clinical skills resource designed for healthcare practitioners caring for critically ill patients. The procedures described in the book vary from simple ones such as peripheral venous cannulation or nasogastric tube placement, to complex ones such as intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation. Sixty-one procedures described in the book have been grouped in five sections: airway and respiratory, vascular and cardiac, neurological, gastrointestinal/abdominal/ genito-urinary and miscellaneous. Each procedure includes an introduction, indication, contraindication, applied anatomy, technique and equipment, procedure, post-procedural care, complications/problem and references. The photographs illustrate the details of the procedure or diagrams of salient anatomy.

The coverage of the subject is up-to-date. It is well presented, not too long, with short paragraphs and bullet-points rather than dense text. The book also has colour illustrations. It has an easy writing style and is comfortable to read.

Most of the contributors are experienced and active consultants from India and abroad, giving the book an authoritative appeal. The editors have succeeded in presenting a uniform and crisp style to a wide variety of information included in the book.

The book is aimed at those new to the intensive care unit (ICU), or those from different disciplines who want a quick review of the subject, particularly those working with critically or acutely ill patients. With an ever-growing number of ICUs, there has been a lack of resources for healthcare professionals to assist with proper training. This book goes some way towards meeting that deficit. Moreover, most of the text covered has a fairly long shelf-life even if it deals with an ever-changing, dynamic discipline of critical care.

The book is not without drawbacks. There are two major drawbacks that come to my mind; first, it does not include a DVD which would have been an invaluable addition providing finer details of various procedures included in the text using audiovisual media. Second, interventional ultrasound could have been included as a separate chapter discussing basics, with a step-by-step approach rather than presenting it, in short, in the relevant chapters, as has been done. For a trainee, the present way is difficult to understand.

While the price of the book is not mentioned, I hope it is not out of reach of the user. I would have liked the price to be in the range of ₹500 to ₹1000.

In summary, I think it is a good book to consult, especially when called upon to manage patients or to prepare for a practical examination.