Reviews (8)

THE BEST!!!
This is by far the best book on respiratory care. No other book comes even close even though there is a major mistake in this new 8th edition: in the disease section, Tuberculosis is missing (editors/publisher mistake?) even though it is placed as one of the chapters in the contents sections. Huge mistake, but still the best book. There is also quite a few mistakes in referencing as the Respiratory Care journal and Clinics in Respiratory Care have been mixed up often, but that is the least of my concernes as I hardly ever follow references. This book is In full color, has great section on ventilatory support, respiratory anatomy and physiology is superb, blood gases also, sleep studies, basically everything. Could have made bronchoscopy more detailed, but I gueass the book will be too big. I personally would like to see next 9th ed. this to be expanded even more and for the Mosby respiratory care equipment book by Cairo to be encoorporated into Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. This book can be of use for all that need to learn or be familiar with respiratory care.

newer edition
A new 8th edition has been published. But this is definately the Bible of Respiratory Care.

Excellent
This is the "Bible of Respiratory Therapy" as once said by my professor. It's a great learning tool that should be used at all colleges offering the respiratory program. I'll always keep this book around no matter what.

Respiratory Therapy at its finest
The Egan's manual for respiratory therapy is the most benificial learning tool and reference manual that I have come across in all of my career. The information in this book is not only easy to understand but layed out in a manner that makes finding what you need an easy task. It gives a thorough review of all the important clinical data and physical characteristics needed to become a competent practitioner. The information in this book is explained in a very simple form which makes it easy to understand and retain the material that is covered. I would recommend this book as a refence tool to any student pursuing a career as a nurse, respiratory therapist, or physician. While this book may apply specific emphasis to the respiratory related field, it will reinforce your nursing or medicinal background by examining disease processes from a cardiopulmonary standpoint. This book has been a valuable learning tool and greatly aided me in both respiratory and nursing related classes and God willing as medical student. Best wishes to all and I hope you enjoy your read.

excellent book
This book is simply ; THE BEST RESPIRATORY PRACTICE BOOK out there. It covers all areas of respiratory practice with one exception: it does not cover individual mechanical ventilators which is good and bad. GOOD = book not as heavy; BAD = must buy a respiratory equipment book in addition to this one. BUT, THIS IS STILL THE BEST RESPIRATORY PRACTICE TEXTBOOK ANYWAY, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT. ... Read more

Book Description

For the last 30 years, this book has been considered the "bible" of diving medicine. It is extremely well known to doctors and researchers working in this field and its editors and contributors are internationally recognized as experts on the subject. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest developments in the field. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wealth of Knowledge
This is an excellent source of information for the new and experienced critical care nurse. The book contains a wealth of extremely detailed information with regard to anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and hemodynamic monitoring. This book covers equipment set up, maintancence, and trouble-shooting. It is full very useful information, for example, how cardiac output and pulmonary wedge pressures are effected by other hemodynamic parameters or outside influences such as PEEP levels and how to account for the increased intrathoracic pressure. Lots of calculations to show you how doctors arrive at decisions and numbers. The book is set up from broad to specific with great organization. Highly recommended.

best of the best
This is the ultimate hemodynamic book, listing disease processes, treatments, causes, symptoms--you name it, it's in there. A great guide for the new critical care nurse. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

decent
Good book on mechanical ventilation but cannot compare to some other books on this subject such as or mechanical ventilation by MacIntyre and Branson or Tobin's book. If you are a clinician dealing with ventilators this is a book that you may find of use. The thing that I don't like about this book is that it is softcover (which may not bother you) and that the author basically wrote almost the whole book by referencing extensively from various medical journals which makes reading harder as almost after each sentence the is superscript reference to look for. The author could have used a few sentences of own.

A major expansion & refinement of the previous edition.
Pilbeam establishes herself as the therapist expert in mechanical ventilation with this expanded & refined edition. It is current, readable, comprehensive & firmly based in clinical practice. Pilbeam is a national treasure in the field of respiratory care.

Insightful, student friendly, chapters flow easily
Having been away from Respiratory Therapy for a number of years, I needed a text that would bring me "up to speed" with changes in technology and current mindsets in acute and chronic care of the respiratory patient. What a joy this book is to read! The author obviously has the firmest of grasps on the subjects discussed and her teaching background is evident throughout. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

As excellent as the authors
Lovely book, it has given very good coverage about all the bronchoscopic procedures ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interventional "bible"
This thourough review of the evolving field of interventional bronchoscopy brings together multiple world experts in the field, resulting in a truly remarkable book. Novices and experienced bronchoscopists alike will enjoy this text and refer back to it repeatedly. All current techniques are exposed and future technologies discussed. All chapters are well illustrated with a multitude of color images and figures. Undoubtedly the current "bible" for interventional bronchoscopists. ... Read more

Book Description

An up-to-date text on the subject based on the latest guidelines from the American Thoracic Society and the American Association of Respiratory Care. It includes a wide range of information relating to pulmonary function testing and cardiopulmonary stress testing. The text is organized for flexibility in use of the book and information is provided in simple, yet effective language. Review questions and case studies round out the learning process. The second edition has been reorganized to allow for greater integration of the equipment chapters with corresponding testing chapters. The chapter on testing for pulmonary mechanics is now the first testing chapter as this is the most frequently performed test both inside and outside the laboratory setting, and these tests are fundamental to the pulmonary assessment of most subjects. Materials from the workbook have been moved into a study section of the text. Key content in the study section includes: demonstration of measurements made from a volume/time tracing of a FVC maneuver, sample calculations for PFTs and C-P stress testing, case studies for PFTs and C-P stress testing, and a laboratory proficiency for performing a FVC test.(Resp. Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, RT, RTT, Resp. Care, PFT, stress testing, pulmonary function testing, pulmonary, cardiopulmonary, respiratory care)ALSO AVAILABLE - INSTRUCTOR SUPPLEMENTS CALL CUSTOMER SUPPORT TO ORDER Instructor's Guide ISBN: 0-8273-8411-4 ... Read more

Reviews (2)

excellent book
While I used John West's books in school(respiratory physiology; pulmonary pathophysiology)and I did not think that those books were any good(I had to use Levitzky's pulmonary physiology to better understand the material) I must say though that this book is great. The way he combined the most important material from those 2 books and incoorporate it with case studies is excellent. I recommend this book for respiratorist and medical students.

Concise and Easy
This is really a lovely book for clearing up concepts in pulmonary physiology. Dr West, one of the globally famous physiology author, integrated pulmonary pathology with the underlining physiology in this thin book. He tried to help students understand what goes wrong in numerous common lung and airway problems with the interesting cases he presented. As he pointed out in the preface, he intended to make this book as concise as possible in order to fit the modern cirriculum by sparing more time for students to deal with the expanding syllabus in molecular science!! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Very helpful discussion of an important medical topic
If you could only read one book on blood gasses this would have to be the one.

This book covers the nitty-gritty about Arterial blood gasses (ABG). As a PhD who performs biomedical research, I have come across "experts" who resort to physiological babble because they dont know what arterial saturation is really all about. You will if you read this book.

The book centers around four classic expresssions: (1) partial pressure of co2, (2) pH (3) alveolar gas equation, and (4) o2 content. From these four expressions, and a little knowledge of clinical medicine, you will understand just about everything you need to know about ABG. Dont let the equations scare you off; you know them already.

The book is simple to read, and has example problems. The real-world examples/problems really help in applying the knowledge, which I found to be quite useful. The author does not go into deep biochemical details. But if you need a good solid introduction to blood chemistry, or have to review how to read an ABG report this is a great book.

Good for medical professionals but not for students
I am an RT instructor and I chose this book as a text book for my arterial blood gas analysis class. the students found it very difficult to understand and some of the formulas have been abreviated to the point that a novice will have trouble understanding them. This is a very good review for anyone who already has a general understanding of acid base, blood gas and electrolyte interpretation and can clear up some misconceptions, however, this book is not adequate for someone just learning the basics. My students were very unhappy and I wound up not using the text nearly as much as I had planned.

excellent
Get this book and it will be like a breeze to learn blood gases. I have seen many med profesionals from respiratory therapist to interns use this book.

Essential for the ICU
I was given this book when I rotated through the ICU as a 3rd year medical student. I had gone through other training classes that attempted to teach me how to read a blood gas but I never could get it down right. THEN, I read this one...it put things into the proper perspective and taught me what I needed to know when I was reading a blood gas. I highly recommend it! ... Read more

Book Description

The third edition of Principles of Airway Management reviews the essential aspects of airway management: anatomy, airway management and CPR, equipment, intubation, fiberoptic endoscopy, complications of endotracheal intubation, surgical approaches, pediatric airway, mechanical ventilation, and much more.

Valuable features: * Provides well-balanced discussions of the complexities and difficult issues associated with airway management

* Excellent organization ensures that the materials will be learned as well as applied in various situations

* A new chapter on laryngeal mask airway that provides timely information on its effect on the practice and the reduced need for laryngoscopy and intubation

* Contains more than 350 updated illustrations, tables, and boxes

* Includes the latest equipment and techniques along with discussions on complications of airway management

The third edition of Principles of Airway Management is ideal for every health professional confronting the issue of airway management- anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, emergency physicians, physicians practicing in critical care units, internal medicine physicians, respiratory therapists, and emergency medical personnel.

"This is a worthy reference for those in any specialty concerned with airway management.It is readable for the student as well as the senior practitioner." - Doody's Review ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive, yet concise tool provides a direct approach to differential diagnosis for the 23 most common radiologic patterns of chest disease. CT and HRCT are used to confirm the pattern, show anatomic distribution of the disease, and make a specific diagnosis. Each pattern is introduced with radiographs followed by a series of questions, tables of differential diagnosis, and discussions of the most likely diseases to present with such a pattern. Discussions emphasize the importance of clinical correlation to narrow down the differential diagnosis. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

radiology resident
This is a very good book for radiologists, residents and medical students with an interest in radiology. The chapters are organized by findings such as pleural calcifications, rather than anatomy such as the pleural space. I find this more in line with how a radiologist/resident thinks. There are "pre-tests" at the begining of each chapter, excellent tables, and post chapter "pearls" that help for comprehension. At the end of the chapters are typical radiographs that show the disease topics. The discussion in the chapters helps you narrow your differential with identification of key secondary findings. This book should be read before the oral exam at least once. ... Read more

Book Description

A "must have" for anyone taking the Advanced Respiratory Therapist Exam (RRT), this guide provides a complete review of the content found in the new NBRC Matrix and Content Outline for the advanced RRT Written and Clinical Simulation Examinations. This New Edition includes a CD-ROM featuring 10 clinical simulations and a post-test based on the new Matrix and Content Outline with a pre-test and highlighted study hints. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

great
This book can be used not only for exams but for basic review of certain subjects. My favorite 3 chapters/sections in this book are hemodynamics, pulmonary function tests, and blood gases. If you have this book you actually dont need to get books from above mentioned 3 subjects. It would be great if Mr Sills would combine both entry and advance books into one since alot of info overlaps anyway and probably in the near future there will not be any CRT's left it will probably be only RRT's (RCP)

I bought it for the pictures . . .
Actually, I bought it for the hemodynamics. I found (and still find) the book to be quite helpful. The layout is very basic - just the listing of information. That almost put me to sleep occasionally because I do better with an outline style (I use this and a Persing review together and that's perfect for me). The illustrations and tables in the Sills are definitely among the better I've seen in these books. ... Read more

Book Description

"Dr. François Haas is an unusually gifted scientist and a compassionate human being."–HOWARD A. RUSK, M.D. Founder and Chairman, Rusk Institute

The bestselling guide for chronic bronchitis and emphysema sufferers–newly revised and expanded. For the millions of people diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema, this bestselling guide is now revised and expanded to offer the most up-to-date information available. From helping you understand your disease and its proper care to showing you how to restore vitality and satisfaction to your relationships, Dr. François Haas and Dr. Sheila Sperber Haas provide you with the facts and information needed to find the right treatment and take full advantage of it. Written in a clear and helpful style, The Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema Handbook now includes current information on useful complementary approaches–including herbal therapy–plus effective exercises and the latest medical advances. You’ll discover:

• How to find the right doctor for you and discuss your treatment options
• How to deal with HMOs and the companies that provide supplemental oxygen
• Which new surgical techniques are most promising
• How to manage stress and anxiety
• How to slow your disease and substantially improve your quality of life
• A variety of helpful resources accessible by phone or web
• The newsletters written by experts that will keep you up-to-date

Reviews (1)

Two Gifted Scientists write a Compassionate Treatise
In July, 2000, my MD pointed to my chest XRay and said: "There's your Emphysema." So I needed to learn more about this total surprise: I went to Amazon, and the 1990 Edition of this book was available, and I bought it, and placed a pre-order for this Updated Edition. The 1990 Edition is superb: it gave me a quick Cook's Tour into my own terra incognita. This Revised Edition builds on the 1990's firm foundation, and adds the break-thru's of the last five years: LVRS [Lung Volume Reduction Surgery] and herbal therapy as two specific examples. And the changes in health insurance practices means that COPD [chronic bronchitis and emphysema] patients must now fend for themselves in obtaining quality and quantity treatment. And this book gives the tools to do just that.

"COPD can be an exhausting and overwhelming burden to live with. Patients [and their caregivers] who continually fear running out of air, who watch their capacities dwindle prematurely, struggle with a heightened sense of their fragility. They and those close to them are usually frightened, depressed and angry. Doctors treating COPD patients do the best they know how to do. The problem is that so many were taught only to treat the medical aspects of COPD--and many [doctors] have never learned since to appreciate the importance of rehabilitating their patients. . . . Restoration to a happier, healthier lifestyle should be the goal of any tratment program -- and it is certainly [the aim of this book] in educating you."

This revised edition is the best there is for the trained, scholarly, and lay patient audiences: it is the terra firma when one is innundated with the contrary and steroid fueled anecdotal opinions one encounters in certain EST-like effort-less support groups on the Internet.

This "Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema Handbook helps COPD patients and their families achieve the kind of realistic perspective about their disease that allows them to live confidently and reasonably calmly with it, and so remove needless limitations from their lives. . ."

With this book, I learned to breathe easily and breathe well.AMDG ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive clinical reference originated largely fromBellevue Hospital, one of the world's leading tuberculosis treatmentcenters and the source of much current research. The book draws on thisextensive experience to present an authoritative account of thehistory, epidemiology, microbiology, immunology, clinical treatment,pharmacology, and prevention or control of tuberculosis. The book willserve as a definitive reference for specialists in pulmonary medicine,infectious disease, and public health. ... Read more

Book Description

Developed to integrate cardiac anatomy with surgical repair by reviewing individual heart defects within an easy-to-follow reference format, A Practical Atlas of Congenital Heart Disease is designed to allow the reader to examine a congenitally malformed heart while referring to its anatomic and surgical description on a single page spread.

Simple line drawings are used to identify the diagnostic anatomic features and to emphasize important surgical landmarks, allowing readers to differentiate the infinitely variable morphology in clinical practice. The anatomic pathologist will also gain an understanding of surgical repairs of postoperative hearts. For virtually every malformation, the position of the specialized conduction tissue is indicated.

The book provides examples of malformations and the relevant surgical considerations, reflecting clinical practice: anatomical specimens are shown in the anatomical position, while the surgical figures are shown as they would be seen operatively. This enables the reader to practice mental imaging of the morphologic and spatial relationships that are integral to congenital heart surgery. In addition, some of the illustrated cases and morphology presented in these pages are themselves rare and sometimes unique examples of particular congenital heart malformations. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

JAMA review of second edition
Steven Lehrer's introduction to auscultation is a primer of pulmonary diagnosis using lung sounds as its unifying theme. Intended to educate the ear as much as the mind, his kit is a self-contained learning experience for the medical student. It may also be useful for critical care and pulmonary service nurses. The kit is an excellent learning system and is highly recommended as an introduction to the topic.

The book begins with an homage by Victor McKusick to the Golden Age of auscultation, introduced by Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec in 1816. The sketch is too brief to elaborate on the fascinating history of auscultation, which at the time was a monumental undertaking. Laennec codified his work in 1819 in his book Traité de l'auscultation médiate, an effort that exhausted him and extracted a two-year period of recovery from his career. Laennec was a pupil of Jean Nicholas Corvisart, the leading advocate and systematizer of chest percussion. Mentor and student defined the chest examination as we know it. Lehrer continues the work, as the transmitter of a grand tradition.

The first chapter reviews the anatomy of the lung and the physiology of ventilation, omitting blood gas interpretation. Lehrer also introduces common pathological conditions, briefly exploring their auscultatory findings. The second chapter shifts attention to the other end of the stethoscope: the listener. Lehrer discusses sound characteristics, the hearing mechanism, and the stethoscope as an instrument. In the third chapter, he introduces the history and physical examination of the patient with chest disease. Here he departs from the emphasis on auscultation to provide the student with a context for the auscultatory examination--an appreciation for the findings that are likely to accompany the abnormal sounds.

Chapter 4 discusses normal breath sounds. This is a fine outline of physical examination of the chest, worth a complete physical diagnosis teaching session with students. It also introduces a simple graphic system of notation. The interested specialist may welcome the discussion of recording systems and waveform analysis. The novice may find this tedious, but the visual display of a waveform does help to prepare one for informed listening. Chapter 5 is what most students will consider the meat of the program, an outstanding and comprehensive treatment of abnormal lung sounds that does not ignore minor phenomena such as mouth noises. Mixing clinical observation with experimental findings, Lehrer explains the origins of abnormal lung sounds and interprets them in keeping with structural and functional changes in the lung. The script to the accompanying tape, a glossary, and an index round out the book.

The script and tape provide examples of the more important normal and abnormal lung sounds, followed by a short quiz. Each lung sound is introduced, demonstrated, and explained. Lehrer has the student listen to the tape through a stethoscope to ensure realism.

For the more experienced reader, the text reminds one how unsatisfactory the usual descriptors of lung sounds have become. After Laennec's elegant system in French, his English-speaking disciples (who are legion) seemed determined to add their own vocabulary. Both the American Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians have tried to standardize the terminology, in so doing unfortunately reducing it to an impoverished few words: rales (or crackles), wheeze, and rhonchus. Lehrer is wise to use British descriptors, which are more precise. However, there is something evocative about terms like "consonating rales," and one misses the poetry of authors like J. Milner Fothergill, who wrote in his Chronic Bronchitis (New York, NY: GP Putnam's Sons; 1882: pp.23-24): "Careful percussion . . . tells much about the complications of chronic bronchitis; even when it has nothing to say about the malady itself. Auscultation, however, is eloquent, even loquacious, about the disease.... Sometimes, especially when the patient is asleep, there may be quite a musical note...."

Medical texts will never be written like that again, but Lehrer's prose is as clear and precise as Fothergill's and on occasion even gets mildly carried away with the romance of its subject.

Tee L. Guidotti, MD, MPH University of Alberta Edmonton
JAMA 1995; 273(12):971

A must have
Simply superb CD/booklet for lung sounds. I recommend it to all students (interns, respiratory, etc) and clinicians who need perfect their skills on chest chest sounds (eg, respiratory therapists and "new young" MDs).

CHEST review
Understanding Lung Sounds 2nd edition review from Chest:

"Understanding Lung Sounds is a paperback with accompanying audiotape that provides an introduction to the art of auscultation of lung sounds and physical diagnosis of chest diseases. The book affords a written explanation of the mechanics of respiratory findings and couples it with the schematic representation of sophisticated lung sound analysis. The audiotape provides examples of the described auscultatory findings.

In this edition, Dr. Lehrer covers both normal and abnormal lung sounds, which allows the novice a unique experience in physical diagnosis of the chest. His text is concise and very understandable for the medical student, nursing student, or physician. The accompanying tape is of excellent quality and provides findings that would be hard to assemble at one time, if patients were required. This variety of findings allows the listener, for instance, to compare and distinguish normal from abnormal and low pitched crackles from high pitched crackles.

This text would be a good addition to any medical student's library. As a teacher of Physical Diagnosis, this reviewer also found it to be a highly recommendable adjunct text for the course. Although a bit simplistic for the experienced practitioner, it is well written. This text is an excellent introduction to understanding lung sounds through sight and sound.

Tim Ferguson, MD Evansville, Indiana/ Chest 1995; 107:20

Learn how to examine the chest
This book-and-tape package guides readers through the sounds and skills of chest auscultation. They get an easy-to-follow, 60-minute cassette that presents actual lung sounds and an accompanying manual that gives them the background to understand what they hear. The reader will be better able to differentiate between normal and abnormal noises, detect pulmonary disorders early, and help plan a management strategy immediately. The 2nd Edition presents how to examine patients by auscultatory percussion, frequency differences between adults and children and the Fourier transformation method of lung sound analysis.

"The content is timely but relatively timeless; it will not soon go out of date." Annals of Internal Medicine ... Read more