Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management

S amer Narouze’s Atlas of UltrasoundGuided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management succeeds in what the title implies. It is a comprehensive textbook that illustrates the use of ultrasound in performing interventional procedures in the treatment of chronic and acute pain. Although the book discusses regional anesthesia including neuraxial and peripheral nerve blocks, the majority of chapters address ultrasound-guided procedures utilized outside the perioperative arena. This broadens the book’s audience to all physicians interested in interventional pain management. The Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management is logically organized. Thirty chapters are grouped into 6 sections: Imaging in Interventional Pain Management and Basics of Ultrasonography, Spine Sonoanatomy and Ultrasound-Guided Spine Injections, Ultrasound-GuidedAbdominal and Pelvic Blocks, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Nerve Blocks and Continuous Catheters, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, and Advanced and New Applications of Ultrasound in Pain Management. The first section is notable for illuminating not only the physics of ultrasound and essential machine ‘‘knobology’’ but also for emphasizing important clinical pearls in optimizing needle visibility and in recognizing common image artifacts; this section is outstanding in mitigating the significant learning curve when first using ultrasound-guidance for interventional procedures. All chapters are invariably well written and appropriately concise. Dr. Narouze prefaces the book by stating the text was minimized to allow for a maximum number of images, but the limited text does not detract from the comprehensiveness of the atlas. The chapters begin with inclusive anatomical reviews that are usually enhanced by correlative pictures and diagrams. The descriptions on how to perform each block are consistently clear and greatly complemented by ultrasound images with apt labeling and interpretations. For instance, the chapters on ultrasoundguided celiac plexus blocks and upper extremity blocks coordinate excellent pictures and diagrams with detailed ultrasound images to induce tremendous understanding of the techniques. The majority of discussions also include extensive literature reviews with references for practitioners desiring to revisit the primary literature. Although Dr. Narouze’s Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management is an outstanding compilation, it is not entirely without shortcomings. There is redundancy in discussing lateral femoral cutaneous nerve blocks (chapters 18 and 21), but a section demonstrating ultrasound-guided injections for the treatment of trochanteric bursitis is surprisingly omitted. The challenge of transposing ultrasound images to paper makes some pictures dark and difficult to visualize, such as those for sacroiliac joint injections (page 187) and lumbar facet injections (page 151). Chapter 18 describes obturator nerve blocks commendably, but the image on page 251 labels only the adductor muscles and does not highlight the locations where the obturator nerve is typically blocked. A complementary DVD or access to a Website demonstrating real-time ultrasoundguided procedures would be helpful. Although many chapters highlight limitations of existing block methods, only a minority of chaptersVsuch as for ultrasound-guided cervical medial branch blocks and caudal epidural injectionsV address the limitations or pitfalls associatedwith the ultrasound-guided techniques. Overall, Dr. Narouze’s Atlas of Ultrasound<Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management exceeds the expectations of its name. It is expertly contrived, and the few deficiencies are slight. It auspiciously fills the void of educational texts for ultrasound-guided pain procedures in a clear, comprehensive, and user-friendly fashion. It is indeed a landmark compendium of ultrasound-guided procedures that is a worthy library addition for any individual interested in interventional pain medicine.