Critical Care Therapeutics

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education,  Winter 2000  by Romanelli, Frank

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RACHEL ELLIOTT. Critical Care Therapeutics. London UK: Pharmaceutical Press, 1999. xix+ 340 pp., 16 figs., 6 tbls., $29.95.

This text provides a comprehensive and concise review of the care and management of critically ill patients. The book is divided into two main sections. Part I reviews major topics in the area of critical care, and part II specifically addresses the pharmaceutical care needs of the acutely ill population. The section authors come from differing multidisciplinary backgrounds and do an outstanding job of providing comprehensive information in a concise fashion. Most major critical care topics are covered in the text including but not limited to: respiratory failure, mutli-organ dysfunction, sedation and analgesia and renal failure. Each topic is covered within individual chapters, which are easily readable and well organized. The authors do a very good job of presenting balanced,. detailed information on the various topics in a logical step-wise fashion. The text may serve as a valuable reference for both critical care and non-critical care clinicians.

The text is truly unique from most other critical care books in that the authors provide a separate section that addresses pharmaceutical care of critically ill patients. Unlike part I of the text, this section specifically addresses the pharmacists role in management of acutely ill patients. Pharmacy students and residents might especially benefit from this section as it will help them to "think like a pharmacist" in their approach to the critically ill patient. This section also provides a great deal of background data for the novice pharmacist in terms of laboratory parameters, hemodynamic monitoring, APACHE scores, etc.

Overall this is a very well written critical care text with much to offer both critical care clinicians as well as generalists. The editor should be commended for the emphasis placed on pharmaceutical care of critically ill patients, as this is a void in the pharmacy literature. As critically ill patients possess many complex medical challenges, the ease of readability and the logic of presentation are also strengths of this work. I would recommend this text to any critical care practitioner and/or generalist seeking a valuable reference in this area.

Frank Romanelli

University of Kentucky

Copyright American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Winter 2000
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