Fatal Sequence: The Killer Within
Author: Kevin J Tracey
The human body is capable of killing itself for little apparent reason, and it happens often enough to rank as the third most common cause of death in the United States today. Kevin Tracey, a neurosurgeon, immunologist, and highly regarded scientist, offers in Fatal Sequence an easily understandable account of the medical and scientific "perfect storm" that is severe sepsis, the medical crisis that can descend on patients fighting off even seemingly nonfatal illness or injury. Severe sepsis killed "Muppets" creator Jim Henson, who had been hospitalized for pneumonia, and took the life of Christopher Reeve, who was being treated for pressure sores of the skin.
Fatal Sequence tells the story of Janice, a one-year-old who arrives in the emergency room, burned by boiling water after she crawled behind her unsuspecting grandmother as she turned from the stove. She survives the night, but the following morning is only the beginning of her long and intense battle against severe sepsis, as her body attacks itself. Tracey, who cared for the girl during her four weeks in intensive care, draws on her case to vividly illustrate why sepsis happens, in a sensitive, suspenseful story that renders cutting-edge science human, accessible, and unforgettable.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer: David J. Dries, MD (University of Minnesota Medical School)
Description: This is a case presentation intended to review advances and research issues in the care of patients with infection and organ failure.
Purpose: Readers are provided a series of telling anecdotes and insights into the ups and downs of shock and sepsis research as applied to the care of a severely injured patient.
Audience: Trainees, practitioners and, most important, the non-medical reader with interest in infection is an appropriate audience. The author is a noted sepsis researcher with involvement in much of the seminal work related to infection and its management.
Features: The reader begins with a hectic ambulance ride to a burn center. The course of a severely burned child is traced through resuscitation, operating room management, and postoperative care. During the course of the patient's month-long hospital stay, Dr. Tracey describes shock and infection manifest by the most severe complications including multiple organ failure. From this experience, Dr. Tracey places treatments available in the mid-1980s in the context of later work describing the patient response to infection, which sometimes complicates care of this problem. He ends with his own more recent work on nervous system control over immune response. While specific references to original work are not provided, detail is sufficient to allow the concerned reader to do database searches for additional information. A concluding subject index gives access to medical terms.
Assessment: This is a good read for the clinician and layperson with an interest in infection and shock. Dr. Tracey has been a central figure in this work for two decades. While his concluding statements regarding neurologic modulation of immune response await confirmation over time, Dr. Tracey provides insight into some of the work that frames the way clinicians think about and treat an important clinical problem.
Rating
3 Stars from Doody
Interesting textbook: Outlook Business Contact Manager 3 For Dummies or Email Marketing By the Numbers
The ABC Herbal: A Simplified Guide to Natural Health Care for Children
Author: Steven H Horn
A Simplified Guide to Natural Health Care for Children
As a father and parent himself, Steven Horne has focused over twenty years experience as an herbalist to bring you The ABC Herbal, a "common sense" approach to natural health care for your kids. Addressing a host of common childhood ailments in this easy-to-read book, Steven will share the same "tried and true" herbal home remedies he uses with his own children. You will learn simple methods to make and apply your own herbal preparations your family will enjoy taking. The ABC Herbal is an invaluable resource for all parents concerned with the health and well being of their children.
No comments:
Post a Comment