Abstract
In its third edition this reference text offers a new format, e-book access and added chapters from expert contributing authors.
Of the approximately 400 pages in hard cover, the book begins with a concise overview of the principles of ultrasound. One may appreciate that this section explains the relevant principles without being overly detailed so as not to detract from the primary focus, i.e. ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia. To follow is a section entitled ‘Structures’, which provides descriptions and images of the relevant anatomical entities one may encounter when performing regional anaesthesia, e.g. the sonographic properties of nerves versus tendons.
The majority of the book is quite rightly focused on the technique of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. The sections are divided into upper, lower and truncal blocks. Of note, there is also a section on Head and Neck Blocks. These are often overlooked in other regional anaesthesia resources. Within these sections, a few topics are written by undisputed experts in the field, e.g. transversus adbominis plane blocks by Peter Hebbard, thoracic paravertebral block by Manoj Karmakar, quadratus lumborum blocks by Hesham Elsharkawy.
The strength of this book lies in its multitude of ultrasound images and pictures of probe placement. In my opinion, the highlight was the paravertebral topic, which explored multiple approaches in detail. The two areas of distal forearm blocks and ankle blocks were also excellent. The text also manages to explore difficult or uncommon blocks, e.g. anterior approach to sciatic nerve, posterior femoral cutaneous nerve block, transversus thoracis and quadratus lumborum blocks. This makes it appealing for even seasoned regional anaesthetists.
Included in the purchase of this book is a free download of the e-book version. In addition, this e-version provides access to some excellent videos demonstrating real-time nerve blocks that are well labelled and demonstrate needle approach and ideal local distribution.
However, the relative strengths of this book are contrasted by some of the poorer sections. One would expect a comprehensive review of two of the more commonly performed blocks, namely the interscalene and supraclavicular. Rather than an in-depth explanation of these blocks, they have been haphazardly combined. This resulted in difficulty understanding which particular block was being referred to in the discussion.
Also disappointing was that the book explores pectoral plane (PECS) block, but only PECS 1. It does not make mention of PECS 2 or serratus anterior block. These latter two blocks are currently in vogue and are extremely useful in chest/truncal anaesthesia.
Lastly, due to the differing contributing authors, the topics are heterogeneously arranged. Some topics have summaries and clinical pearls, while other chapters do not.
Overall, this book is useful for its images and as an “all-in-one” resource best suited to a library holding as a reference book. The videos are excellent and the e-book version is a big plus. However, due to the deficiencies above, I would argue that this text would find it hard to compete with available web resources that provide similar information in a portable, cheaper format.