Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 17, Number 2, 2007
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
Pain Medicine: The Requisites in Anesthesiology
Reviewed by Dermot Fitzgibbon, MD
Stephen E. Abram, (Ed.), Philadelphia, Elsevier/Mosby, 2006. Hard cover, 240 pages, ISBN 0-323-02831-4, $79.95.
This volume of Pain Medicine: The Requisites in Anesthesiology series is edited by Stephen Abram, MD, a noted anesthesiologist and pain researcher. Fifteen authors contributed to this book, many of whom are associated with the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. This book provides guidelines for anesthesiology residents for treating common pain problems and serves as a study guide for anesthesiology board examinations. It also provides a sound basic understanding of pain problems encountered in community anesthesiology pain practices.
The book’s 22 chapters cover typical topics in pain medicine such as pain pathways and mechanisms, drugs in chronic pain management, local anesthetics, and psychological assessment and management of chronic pain. Pain syndromes include neuropathic pain, back and neck pain, complex regional pain syndromes, myofascial pain, headache, facial pain, central pain, and painful medical diseases. Perioperative pain, pediatric pain, and cancer pain are also included, as are treatment modalities such as chronic spinal drug administration, neurolytic blocks for cancer pain, and electrical stimulation of the nervous system.
Readers will be immediately struck by the refreshing appearance of each chapter. Although the diagrams are not in color, most figures and diagrams are welldesigned and clear, particularly those provided by Milwaukee-based Medical Center Graphics. Each chapter provides relatively extensive information and is written in a clear, comprehensive, and reader-friendly fashion. The information is up to date and scientifically accurate. Notable chapters center on pain pathways and mechanisms and on drugs in chronic pain management. I particularly liked the organization of drugs in chronic pain management; each drug presented has both basic science and clinical science sections.
Dr. Abrams is to be commended for his contributions to this text. He wrote several chapters (Psychological Treatment of Chronic Pain, Physical Rehabilitation of the Chronic Pain Patient, Complex Regional Pain Syndromes, Headache, and Neurolytic Blocks for Cancer Pain) and contributed two chapters on myofascial pain syndrome and central pain. His contributions are of the highest standard and will be helpful to residents-in-training and established pain experts alike.
Overall, this is an excellent text for both the casual observer and for experts in pain medicine, and particularly for those who desire a quick, comprehensive overview in areas commonly encountered in practice. This is not a basic text in pain medicine nor a refresher for examinations; it’s simply way above that level. Most importantly, this book serves as a reminder that anesthesiologists who practice pain management on either an occasional or regular basis are not merely procedural technicians but physicians who practice medicine.
Dr. Fitzgibbon is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle.