Signs and Symptoms in Emergency Medicine; Literature-Based Guide to Emergent Conditions

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Pocket-sized quick reference providing a symptom-based approach to patient care in the emergency room. Details the symptoms, signs, workup, and treatment considerations for each diagnosis. Halftone and color illustrations. For residents and practition- ers. Trim size: 7.5 x 4.5 inches. Softcover.

Signs and Symptoms in Emergency Medicine is a book written and published in the United States. However, it would have been very useful to have a glossary.This book has reference to its web site at www.signsandsymptoms.com which has several links to various other resources, including the University of Texas' Trauma Center (which is geared toward medical professionals), PharmInfoNet, and the National Library of Medicine. For a quick reference, subjects and subchapter headings mentioned in the index are marked with a medical symbol on the pages listed next to these subject headings. Most chapter subheadings also have symptoms, signs, workup, comments and treatment considerations, and references listed in bold face, with an explanation of what to expect under these headings.Unlike the book, Cardiac Emergencies: A Pocket Guide, this book does not flow from one chapter to the next. The table of contents gives an alphabetical listing of the injury and the page information of this injury. This permits one to scroll down the list to find if needed information is contained in the book.The "stable/unstable color emergency algorithm and drug treatment care" that accompanies the book is useful, but by it not being attached to the book, it can easily slip out and be lost. It would have been better if a pocket were attached to the inside of the book to put this reference guide in so that the material could be easily obtained. The clarity of the photographs and x-rays is among the best of any text. This clarity makes it easy to understand the point the author is trying to make when diagnosing the injury.This is not a book for the layperson. It is best suited for emergency room physicians, or a medical school library.Reviewer: Teauria A. Brown, Library Technical Assistant, University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences, teauria@uic.edu Copyright 2000 E-Stream Reviews