Emergency Medicine Australasia

(2005)

17

, 524–525

Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKEMMEmergency Medicine Australasia1035-68512005 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd2005175524525Book Review

Book ReviewsBook Reviews

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OOK

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EVIEWS

Practical Ophthalmology – A Survival Guide for Doctors and Optometrists

Pane A and Simcock P, Elsevier Churchill Living-stone, 2005, 255 pages, soft cover, RRP $A59.95, ISBN 00443101124. Distributed by Elsevier Australia, telephone: +61 2 9517 8999 or web site: http://www.elsevier.com.au

If you are looking for a concise, eloquent, informativetext to expand your knowledge of the diagnostic dilem-mas and treatment principles pertaining to ophthalmo-logic emergencies, unfortunately you will not find it here.

This book aims to be a ‘survival guide’ for juniorhospital doctors, medical students, general practitionersand optometrists. However, as a handbook that aims toaddress such a diverse audience it suffers from its brev-ity and as the authors suggest, it ‘relies on massive oversimplification’.

There are certainly some very appealing aspects ofthis book. Its glossy presentation, excellent and well-placed high-quality images, waterproof soft cover andpocket size make it very pleasing to the eye. In partic-ular, the second chapter, on examination of the eye, isclear, didactic and highly practical.

Unfortunately the remaining chapters of interest tothe emergency physician, particularly the red eye, eyetrauma and visual loss are aimed at very junior doctorsor medical students. These chapters are based on flowdiagrams to aid diagnosis, but the subsequent textexpanding the diagrams lacks flow, context and dis-criminative emphasis and is difficult to follow.

For this book to be useful to ED or budding emer-gency physicians, I believe it needs to give some clearindication of emergency treatment that could be com-menced prior to ophthalmologic review. However, Icould find very few instances where the treatment sec-tion consisted of anything other than a referral to anophthalmologist, ED or to an eye clinic.

For the treatment of acute glaucoma, the book recom-mends ‘urgent medical treatment to decrease intraocu-lar pressure’. However, there is no mention of thepotential pharmacological agents that can be adminis-tered, or practical procedures that can be utilized toachieve such an outcome.

This text might be useful for medical students andcity-based general practitioners who can refer patientsto eye clinics and ED readily, but not as a core ophthal-mology text for emergency physicians.

Ian Norton

MB, BAO, BCh(Hons), MRCSI, DTM, DIH

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia

Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKEMMEmergency Medicine Australasia1035-68512005 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd 2005175Book

Review

Book ReviewsBook Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS

Medical Response to Terrorism: Preparedness and Clinical Practice

Keyes DC, Burstein JL, Schwartz RB and Swienton RE, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005, 449 pages, hard cover, RRP $A163.90, ISBN 0781749867. Distributed by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Australia, Sydney, telephone:

+

61 2 9212 5955 or website: http://www.l-ww.com.au

‘Medical response to terrorism: Preparedness and clini-cal practice’ is well timed (in the wake of the attacks onLondon), with seemingly unbridled escalation in terror-ist activity, heightened societal awareness, and fear of,attack. Such attacks pose serious health threats towhole communities, overwhelm health infrastructuresand lead to fracturing of social, economic and politicalstructures.

This excellent reference resource is of particular rel-evance to prehospital and ED health workers, who pro-vide front-line medical response to victims of terroristacts and are vulnerable to secondary harm from envi-ronmental contamination. The ED is the first point ofarrival for those harmed by terrorist acts and will havethe least time of any hospital care area to prepare forsuch surges.

Part one provides encyclopaedic coverage of terroristacts in their various forms, including chemical, biolog-ical, biochemical, nuclear, radiation and explosiveattacks. Part two covers preparation, planning andrehearsal necessary to improve the capability, capacityand readiness of emergency and medical systems torespond to inherently unpredictable terrorist attacks.

Book Reviews

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Section seven deals with prevention of health-careworker exposure to secondary contamination andcontagion using personal protective equipment anddecontamination, a particular hazard for emergencyworkers.

Book chapters have a logical flow and consistentstructure with comprehensive references, starting withan absorbing account of the historical evolution of theagent, followed by chemical and kinetic characteristics,leading logically to clinical effects and manifestations,and culminating in patient management. Most chaptersend with a descriptive summary slide and a list of web-based resources. I would have preferred diagnostic andtreatment algorithms that provide useful, rapidly acces-

sible and understandable clinical information ratherthan a set of multichoice questions to complete eachchapter.

This book provides a superb foundation upon whichto base more practical, easy to use, site-specific disasteralgorithms and protocols for each jurisdiction or health-care facility.

Joseph Ting

MB BS(Qld), B Med Sci(Hons), FACEM

Department of Emergency Medicine

Mater Public Adult Hospital

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia