Many thanks to Dr Manoj Wickramsinghe for his review of this fabulous POCUS textbook. He is a trainee in Anaesthesia and ICM, based in Leeds, and one of the CCN editorial team.
About the book authors
Editors;
Hatem Soliman-Aboumarie, Marcelo Haertel Miglioranza, Luna Gargani, Giovanni Volpicelli.
The authors and editors of this book include some international leaders and experts in POCUS! As a result, I got stuck into this text with an element of optimism and expectation bias!
Introduction
Another POCUS book?!? There’s a wealth of available texts out there already, with a seemingly high release rate of new ones. Indeed, some of the most recent have been excellent and continue to go from strength to strength.
The preface contains a gem of a statement on ultrasound!
So what about this one?
Structure and style
There are various chapters on cardiopulmonary ultrasound in this book, which I won’t go into the specifics of, however, the structure is neat, easy to follow, and duplicates throughout the book. Each chapter starts with key messages, then is followed by an introduction, body text, and conclusions.
Despite the complexities the book chooses to delve into, it is refreshingly easy to follow. Information was certainly ‘bite-sized’ enough for me and at no point did I feel overwhelmed.
The book starts with an introduction to ultrasound physics and artifacts and is followed by a basic introduction to transthoracic echocardiography. The physics sections are pitched extremely well, such that they make sense to someone new to ultrasound physics, but equally have some important key information applicable to those sitting advanced echocardiography exams (such as me!).
Some of my favorite parts of the book are the pitfalls/tips sections contained within some of the chapters. The authors are world-leading experts in their respective fields, giving specific tips and tricks ‘direct from the coal face’, as it were. As an experienced sonographer, I learned a huge deal from reading these particular pointers.
I said I wouldn’t go into specific chapter details, a mild untruth! The last chapter I will mention is ‘Echocardiography in Mechanical Support’ written by Susana Price and Guido Tavazzi. This was a fascinating read for me, as someone who does not look after patients on mechanical circulatory support, and gave some insightful points about the role of ultrasound in this patient cohort.
Images
It is always difficult to present ultrasound in a textbook with static images, particularly echocardiography, as so much of this is based on seeing the dynamic movement of cardiac structures. This makes it incredibly important that the static ultrasound images in the book are of high quality…and this book did not disappoint. All of the images displayed were very clear and relevant. I still think it is impossible to properly understand and learn many parts of echocardiography without dynamic loops, but as far as a book goes, this is up there on a pedestal in terms of image quality.
Below, are some sample images:
Conclusion
I had extremely high expectations for this book, and I was not disappointed. This book is an easy read yet covers everything from ultrasound physics, and basic echocardiography to more advanced multi-modal ultrasound assessment in the acutely unwell patient. I don’t think this book is for the beginner to ultrasound, but I do think it appeals to a much wider range of skill levels than previous POCUS books. If you want anything from a basic understanding of ultrasound, right through to the pursuit of advanced qualification, look no further!
Congratulations to Hatem, the editors and authors, on this fantastic book!
Here is a link to buy it!
CCN rating – 10/10
Review by Dr Manoj Wickramsinghe (Editor CCN)
Peer Reviewed by Dr Jonny Wilkinson (Editor-in-Chief CCN) – COI JW has written 2 chapters for this text
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