The Little ICU Book of Facts and Formulas »

Ideal for quick reference at the bedside, The Little ICU Book is a smaller, condensed, compact, and portable version of The ICU Book, Third Edition. Most of the chapters in the larger book have been retained in the little book, but each chapter has been completely rewritten to include only the most essential information. The content is presented in outline format for easy access, and the book is densely packed with facts and formulas that represent the essentials of patient care in the adult ICU.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:David J. Dries, MD(University of Minnesota Medical School)
Description:This is the first edition of a pocket companion to The ICU Book, 3rd edition (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2007). Both works are written by Dr. Paul Marino.
Purpose:This is a bedside quick read for the clinician.
Audience:Medical students, postgraduate trainees, and fellows are an appropriate audience for this work, which is based on a highly successful book that has gone through three editions spanning over 15 years.
Features:Content is designed to parallel the main text. Thus, cardiopulmonary critical care opens the book, followed by organ specific considerations including renal, acid-base, transfusion, nutrition, neurology, infection, and pharmacology. Three concluding appendixes describe units and conversions, lab reference values, and additional physiologic relationships. Chapters are written in outline form and feature many of the tables and equations from the parent text. While the flow of content in the parent text is recreated in this pocket version, not all chapters are specifically summarized. References date to four years or more from the time of publication and reflect original work in the majority of cases. They have not been updated from those used in the larger work published in 2007. Tables and black-and-white line drawings reproduce with good effect. Reference lists are sufficiently long to allow the reader independent access to supporting material. An extensive subject index provides separate citations for figures and tables.
Assessment:This book effectively reproduces the major content areas of the parent text. I was disappointed that references were not updated and noted some surprising typographical errors despite the goal of simple reproduction from the original text. Nonetheless, the author has made an excellent reference work into an effective pocket companion.

I Preventive Practices in the Critically Ill

1 Infection Control in the ICU 1

2 Stress-Related Mucosal Injury 19

3 Venous Thromboembolism 31

II Vascular Access

4 Vascular Catheters 53

5 Establishing Venous Access 61

6 The Indwelling Vascular Catheter 77

III Hemodynamic Monitoring

7 The Pulmonary Artery Catheter 97

8 Cardiac Filling Pressures 113

9 Systemic Oxygenation 125

IV Disorders of Circulatory Flow

10 Hemorrhage and Hypovolemia 139

11 Colloid and Crystalloid Resuscitation 157

12 Acute Heart Failure(s) 173

13 Cardiac Arrest 189

V Critical Care Cardiology

14 Acute Coronary Syndromes 209

15 Tachycardias 233

VI Common Pulmonary Disorders

16 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 255

17 Asthma and COPD in the ICU 269

VII Mechanical Ventilation

18 Basics of Mechanical Ventilation 283

19 Modes of Positive-Pressure Breathing 299

20 The Ventilator-Dependent Patient 315

21 Discontinuing Mechanical Ventilation 333

VIII Acid-Base Disorders

22 Acid-Base Interpretations 349

23 Organic Acidoses 363

24 Metabolic Alkalosis 379

IX Renal and Electrolyte Disorders

25 Oliguria and Acute Renal Failure 391

26 Hypertonic and Hypotonic Conditions 409

27 Potassium 427

28 Magnesium 443

29 Calcium and Phosphorus 457

X Transfusion Practices in Critical Care

30 Anemia and Erythrocyte Transfusions 477

31 Thrombocytopenia and Platelet Transfusions 493

XI Inflammation and Infection in the ICU

32 Fever in the ICU 505

33 Infection, Inflammation, and Multiorgan Injury 521

34 Pneumonia in the ICU 535

35 Sepsis from the Abdomen and Pelvis 549

XII Nutrition and Metabolism

36 Nutritional Requirements 563

37 Enteral Tube Feeding577

38 Total Parenteral Nutrition 591

39 Adrenal and Thyroid Dysfunction 603

XIII Critical Care Neurology

40 Disorders of Mentation 613

41 Disorders of Movement 627

42 Acute Stroke 641

XIV Parenteral Drug Therapies in the ICU

43 Analgesia and Sedation 653

44 Antimicrobial Therapy 671

45 Hemodynamic Drugs 689

XV Toxicology

46 Pharmaceutical Toxins & Antidotes 705

XVI Appendices

1 Units and Conversions 719

2 Selected Reference Ranges 725

3 Additional Formulas 731

Index 735