for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease (Informa), de-vote less space to defining basic skills and program devel-opment and are more expensive. Thus, Structural Heart Dis-ease Interventions may be the best first book for readersstarting in this field.

Eric R. Bates, MD

Author Affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of InternalMedicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (ebates@umich.edu).Conflict of Interest Disclosures: The author has completed and submitted the ICMJEForm for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.

PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE STUDY GUIDE: TEXT AND REVIEW

Edited by Steven E. Lucking, Frank A. Maffei, Robert F. Tamburro,and Neal J. Thomas952 pp, $89.95New York, NY, Springer, 2012ISBN-13: 978-0-85729-922-2

PROVIDING CARE TO CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN IS A PRIVILEGE

that comes with profound responsibility. Pediatric criticalcare medicine demands a great deal from those who areblessed to practice it. The field is multidisciplinary by na-ture, and practitioners require a wide fund of knowledgeacross many different organ-based subspecialties. Acquir-ing and maintaining such a broad fund of knowledge andmastering the fundamentals of the practice of this specialtycan be a challenge.

Pediatric Critical Care Study Guide: Text and Review pro-vides an important and practical resource not only for in-dividuals training to become pediatric intensivists butalso for seasoned experts who may be looking for a quickrefresher or update. Although many available textbookscan serve as primary references for pediatric critical caremedicine, this particular textbook serves a different andcomplementary purpose. The book distills and presentsthe essentials of the practice of pediatric critical care medi-cine in approachable ways and in digestible portions thattogether provide a solid foundation for the mastery offundamentals.

The 952 pages and 42 chapters cover the essentials acrossall of the major organ systems. The first few chapters ad-dress basic physiology, with individual chapters devoted totopics such as the fundamentals of gas exchange, hemody-namics, the structure and function of the nephron, and theinflammatory process. Essential therapeutic modalities, suchas conventional and nonconventional mechanical ventila-tion (each with its own chapter), cardiovascular drug therapy,renal replacement, and sedation and analgesia are pre-sented next. Subsequent chapters in the second half of thetextbook cover distinct disease processes, including statusasthmaticus, circulatory failure and shock, sepsis, trau-matic brain injury, acute kidney injury, and acute liver in-jury. The study guide concludes with several chapters de-voted to special circumstances such as metabolic crises,

management of trauma and burns, and toxicology. The text-book has been carefully edited by 4 internationally recog-nized experts in pediatric critical care medicine and in-cludes chapters by contributors also expert in the field.

Every chapter has the same structure, thereby transform-ing the text into an easily assimilated, reliable study guide.To achieve this, the editors applied to every chapter athoughtful formula that starts with a brief content outlineand a list of learning objectives followed by the chapter’scontent. This content is bookended with an introductionand a summary. Every chapter concludes with 7 to 10 mul-tiple-choice review questions and a list of between 5 and55 suggested readings. Importantly, the content of everychapter is supported with numerous figures, charts, tables,and equations. These represent the classic graphics and equa-tions that distill the principles of practice and demonstratethe fundamentals of the field.

For individuals seeking to master the essentials, Pediat-ric Critical Care Study Guide: Text and Review will serve asan enormously valuable resource. It is a highly informa-tive, accessible, and enjoyable guide that will complementthe intensivist’s library of cornerstone texts and high-impact journals. For the young intensivist, the guide willserve as a means of learning the essentials of the field whilepreparing for certification. For the more experienced in-tensivist, it will serve as a practical resource for regular ref-erence as well as a review text for recertification. As the edi-tors write in the preface, “the care of children is both aprivilege and a blessing.” It is therefore incumbent on thosewho choose to practice pediatric critical care medicine tobecome expert in their field, and this guide will certainlyhelp facilitate that noble endeavor.

Carley Riley, MD, MPPDerek S. Wheeler, MD

Author Affiliations: Division of Critical Care Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hos-pital Medical Center (Drs Riley and Wheeler) and University of Cincinnati Collegeof Medicine (Dr Wheeler), Cincinnati, Ohio (derek.wheeler@cchmc.org).Conflict of Interest Disclosures: The authors have completed and submitted theICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Dr Wheeler reportedreceiving royalties from Springer for serving as principal editor of a textbook onpediatric critical care medicine. Dr Riley reported no disclosures.

HARRISON’S PRINCIPLES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE

By Dan Longo, Anthony Fauci, Dennis Kasper, Stephen Hauser,and Joseph Loscalzo18th ed, 2 vols, 4012 pp (with DVD), $220New York, NY, McGraw-Hill, 2011ISBN-13: 978-0071748896

BUILDING ON 6 DECADES OF TRADITION, THE 18TH EDITION OF

Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine features an updated,multimedia format that presents the core knowledge of inter-nal medicine in a comprehensive yet easy-to-navigate fash-ion. This hefty, 2-volume text is a worthy update to what isarguably the most recognized book in all of medicine.

BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS

©2012 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. JAMA, November 7, 2012—Vol 308, No. 17 1813

Downloaded From: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/ by a Saint Joseph's University User on 09/03/2013

Medicine has evolved considerably during the 63 yearssince the first edition, and several entirely new specialtieshave emerged. As the editors recollect in the preface, “pep-tic ulcer disease was thought to be caused by stress, nearlyevery tumor that was not resected led to death, rheumaticheart disease was widely prevalent, and hepatitis B and [hu-man immunodeficiency virus] infection were unknown.” To-day, the sheer volume of information required by the inter-nist is mind-boggling, and the body of evidence informingclinical care continues to burgeon. The transformation inhow physicians learn the art and science of medicine hasbeen equally dramatic.

With the help of a new font, updated tables and figures,and additional use of color, the vast information packagedin the 18th edition is surprisingly accessible. The nearly 400chapters review disease mechanisms, clinical manifesta-tions, and the latest recommendations for treatment in a sys-tematic manner. The 18th edition includes 25 new chap-ters such as “The Biology of Aging,” “The HumanMicrobiome,” and “Neuropsychiatric Illnesses in War Vet-erans.” The new edition also keeps up with the changingworld with expanded content related to global health anddisparities. Thoughtful chapters such as “Global Issues inMedicine,” “Primary Care in Low- and Middle-Income Coun-tries,” and “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care”are among the many highlights.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of the 18th edition in-volves the use of new electronic formats. The text includesa companion DVD with 57 electronic chapters, along withinstructional videos that demonstrate physical examina-tion skills and common clinical procedures. Readers canwatch expert clinicians explain the indications, contrain-dications, and potential complications for procedures suchas thoracentesis, paracentesis, intubation, and central line

placement. Each presentation includes a mini-lecture thatwalks the learner through the requisite steps, including pa-tient safety considerations. The DVD also contains more than2000 images that can be downloaded for teaching. Elec-tronic resources include several atlases of photographs, of-ten in high-quality color, illustrating rashes, blood smears,and chest radiographs. Other features include an audio-enhanced chapter on heart murmurs and case-based teach-ing exercises in acid-base abnormalities. Ready-to-usePowerPoint presentations are also available for easy class-room didactics. An intriguing aspect of the electronic fea-tures is the capacity to both take and share notes from thelectures and reading.

Not long ago, textbooks were the primary reference forclinical care. Many physicians still recall the once ubiqui-tous, well-worn copies of Harrison’s with at least a twingeof nostalgia. Despite physicians’ increasing reliance on in-stant access to information from faster and more con-densed electronic sources, textbooks remain essential to theeffective practice of medicine.

With the 18th edition, Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medi-cine retains its standing as a definitive clinical reference andremains an outstanding foundation for any physician or phy-sician-in-training. In many regards, Harrison’s remains syn-onymous not just with internal medicine but with medi-cine in general. The editors of the 18th edition have skillfullybalanced tradition with the desire and need for innovation.The result is a book that remains as fundamental to currentmedical practice as the first edition was in 1949.

Preeti N. Malani, MD, MSJ, MS

Author Affiliations: University of Michigan Health System and Veterans AffairsHealthcare System, Ann Arbor (pmalani@umich.edu).Conflict of Interest Disclosures: The author has completed and submitted the ICMJEForm for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.

BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS

1814 JAMA, November 7, 2012—Vol 308, No. 17 ©2012 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Downloaded From: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/ by a Saint Joseph's University User on 09/03/2013