Drugs and Anesthesia: Pharmacology for Anesthesiologists

The second edition of this text retains the same goal as the first: ”To apply a knowledge of the basic principles of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics to anesthesia and to illustrate the importance of these principles to the practicing anesthesiologist.” The Drs. Wood wrote most of the material for the book. They were joined by nine other contributors, primarily nonanesthesiologists from institutions in the southeastern United States, who wrote chapters on drugs not commonly described in ordinary anesthesia textbooks. The book is divided into four sections. The first, covering general pharmacologic principles, is perhaps the best. The field of receptor pharmacology is changing rapidly, and the discussions regarding this area are timely and of great interest. The last three sections covering drugs and anesthesia, cardiovascular therapeutics, and general therapeutics are typical of a pharmacology textbook with a detailed description of a variety of drugs. The book is amply supplied with tables and figures. There are two appendices: one a pediatric dose schedule and the other a listing of pharmacokinetic parameters of important drugs. This reviewer found the layout to be somewhat confusing and difficult to follow. The legends for figures were not clearly separated from the text. The authors intentionally did not interpose any footnotes in the text to ”facilitate readability” and instead, listed them alphabetically at the end of the chapter. If you wish to look up something mentioned in the text you have no idea from which source it originated. Proofreading errors noted in the first chapter alone included substitution of Figure 1.3 for 1.4, a failure to define symbols in Figure 1.7, and a typo in Figure 1.13. The index was generally good although the same page citations were often duplicated after most headings. The information was mostly current, including a lengthy discussion of propofol. Yet, whereas 12 pages were devoted to halothane and two to methoxyflurane, only five pages were devoted to isoflurane and a half to sevoflurane. Desflurane was not mentioned. Several pages were devoted to a discussion of the newer muscle relaxants, including some not yet released for use in the United States. Chapter 21 included a nice dissertation on the controversial issue of isoflurane and the coronary artery “steal“ phenomenon. The book is exactly as advertised: a pharmacology text for the anesthesiologist. It is a good resource when looking for information about drugs not commonly associated with anesthesia or found in the usual anesthesia textbooks, such as diuretics, prostaglandins, anticoagulants, and drugs acting on the endocrine system. Alternatively, one may wish to buy the book so as to own a basic primer on pharmacology.