Book Reviews

Pediatric Emergency Medicine Secrets Pediatric Emergency long, allowing the physician to quickly scan
Review by Paula y. Whiteman, MD for pertinent information when a "refresher"
Medicine Secrets about the differential diagnosis of a particu-
Handbook of Medical Photography lar patient is needed.
Selbst SM, CronanK (eds)
Review by William Birdsong, MD However, a number of the chapters are
Hanley & Belfus, 2001
much longer, providing extensive overviews of
Copyright © 2001 by the College of Emergency 425 pages, $39
Physicians.
their subjects with tables and treatment alter-
ISBN 1-56053-411-7
natives. The chapter on infectious diseases,
0196-0644/2001/$35.00 + 0
This book is another fine addition to the for example, discusses the all-important
47181114534
doi: l O.l O671mem.2001.114534 Secrets Series. The emphasis of this manual issue of age range when approaching the
is on the need-to-know pearls of pediatric very common complaint of fever and also dis-
emergency medicine. The editors have done cusses organ systems with multiple tables to
a superb job of pulling together 68 chapters help guide treatment decisions. Similarly, the
written by an equal number of experts in their chapter on poisoning covers this complex
fields to create a volume from which pediatri- topic in a detailed and concise fashion. It
cians and emergency physicians will both highlights the concept of "deadly in a dose"
benefit. as it applies to the toddler.
The chapters are logically arranged with Each chapter is arranged in a highly read-
the most critical, those dealing with ad- able question-and-answer format, and many
vanced life support, presented in the first of the chapters are interspersed with cases
section. These are followed by 25 chapters, to emphasize key points. For example, chap-
each dealing with the primary pediatric com- ter 19, which addresses "limp" as a symptom,
plaints that are most likelyto be encountered both uses the question-and-answer format to
in an emergency department, such as ear highl ight the important approach to a patient
pain, fever, or foreign bodies. These chapters with this problem and uses multiple-choice
are followed by sections on medical emer- questions and several pertinent cases to
gencies, surgical emergencies, and trauma. focus the reader on the most important causes
Environmental emergencies and special top- to consider in the differential. Dr. Shaw's
ics conclude the book. The ease with which chapter on fluids and electrolytes provides
one can find the information should make this the necessary formulas to approach the fre-
book an invaluable quick reference for medi- quent problem of dehydration and gives case
cal students and residents rotating through examples to illustrate howto workthrough
the emergency department. Indeed, I wish the calculations for dispensing the appropri-
the book had been around when I was a pedi- ate fluids.
atric emergency fel low itwould have made a Pediatric EmergencyMedicine Secretsis
welcome addition to my reading as I reviewed similar in layout to Synopsisof Pediatric
for my board examinations. EmergencyMedicineby Gary R. Fleisher and
This book is compact enough to be kept Stephen Ludwig, which is considerably longer
handy when working a clinical shift. Most of and more of an abbreviated reference book.
the chapters are no more than 5 or 6 pages Pediatric EmergencyMedicineSecretsalso

5 5 4 A N N A L S OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE 375 MAY 2001

contains illustrative radiographs, which are publish your photographs in a book or journal, the weakest in the book. Issues of consent
not generally a part ofthe Secrets Series. use them as part of the medical record, show and libel are presented with examples from
The McGraw-Hill PediatricEmergency them at a major conference, or submit them case law, but I found the prose to be a bit
Medicine: A ComprehensiveStudyGuideis as legal or forensic evidence, it probably muddy. I'm still not sure whether it is legal to
slightly longer but is not as handy for quick won't be adequate to whip out your pocket publish a picture of someone's foot without
reference. Its chapters are in text format and digital or 35-mm camera. We are talking written consent despite this subject having
provide a more thorough overview. about a small closet full of equipment at a been addressed explicitly.
Lastly, Crain's ClinicalManual of Emer- substantial investment of money and time if Overall, this book is an excellent technical
gency Pediatrics is also a close competitor. you want to do it right. manual for those seeking to produce the high-
This book is also concise with an emphasis on If you already know the basic principles of est quality medical images for publication.
management and disposition advice for spe- photography, you may enjoy reviewing them Those of us with less stringent requirements
cific illnesses, but the writing style and sec- in the context of medical practice. F-stops, probably won't benefit from the largest sec-
tion layout are quite different. shutter speeds, lighting, and film selection tion on regional anatomy. This and the fact
Students of pediatric emergency medicine all are important and depend on the clinical that many of the remaining chapters are
now have a new, highly readable volume to context. Did you know that there is a special redundant make me wonder whether most of
help sharpen their knowledge. Pediatric kind of film that is specially made for shoot- the useful information could have been pre-
EmergencyMedicine Secretsis best suited ing pictures of x-rays or that different rashes sented in a much smaller, less expensive for-
for those who enjoy memory tools, mnemon- require different kinds of lighting? The chap- mat, perhaps even in a short series of journal
ics, and quizzes to help them learn or for ter on technique is excellent and demon- articles. It is obvious that the book's editors
those who want a book small enough that it strates through specific examples and some share a common passion for medical photog-
can be kept nearby for a "sneak peak" during well-chosen figures exactly why some pho- raphy and that they hope to bring the rest of
work. tographs are much better than others. us up to their level, i'm just not sure that you
Paula J. Whiteman, MD A chapter on equipment is a bit redun- need this book if all you want to do is make it
Department of EmergencyMedicine dant, but it clearly demonstrates how know- abundantly clear that the crater on the screen
Cedars-SinaiMedical Center ing what all those little buttons on the back of is on the penis and not on Venus.
Los Angeles, CA your high-end 35-mm SLR camera do can William Birdsong, MD
really expand your repertoire of photographic Bellevue Hospital Center
options. Additionally, ifyou have ever at- New YorkUniversity
Handbook of Medical tempted and failed (as I have)to capture a New York,NY
lengthy surgical procedure on film, you will
Photography appreciate the section on photography in the
operating room.
Stack LB, StorrowAB, Morris/VIA (eds)
The chapter "Technique by Body Location"
Hanley & Belfus, 2000
is the largest in the book at 330 pages. This is
469 pages, $55
basically a regional atlas of surface anatomy
ISBN 1-5605-3213-0
that explains how to shoot pictures of every
Is it an armpit, a gluteal cleft, or a swamp? part ofthe human bodyto achieve textbook-
Questions like these often come to mind quality images. The photographs in this sec-
when someone projects medical photo- tion are beautiful and are arranged at the top
graphic handiwork at a conference. We've all ofthe left-hand page with a textual outline of
snapped photos of rashes and interesting the technique below. On the facing page a
lesions, but how many of us really know what line drawing illustrates the setup and the
we're doing? Medical images can be more manner in which each photograph was taken.
descriptive than the most eloquent prose, or This chapter is invaluable for those who seek
they can be downright confusing. With the to attain the highest quality images, but most
recent publication of the Handbookof of the setups are too elaborate for most prac-
Medical Photography, Lawrence Stack, Alan tical, day-to-day applications.
Storrow, and Michael Morris are clearly hop- Chapters on photographing radiographic
ing to raise the standards of clinical images. images, forensics, photojournalism, and stor-
The Handbookof Medical Photography age all are clearly written and useful, and an
begins with a review of what equipment to essay on digital photography makes it clear
buy and an explanation of why digital photog- that it is virtually impossible to take excellent
raphy is not yet adequate. It quickly becomes digital photographs without a camera that
apparent that this book is intended for the costs $16,000. The final chapter on the legal
serious medical photographer. If you want to aspects of medical photography is, perhaps,

MAY 2001 375 ANNALS OF EMERGENCY M E D r c I N E 5 55