Reviewer: Amaal Jilani Starling, MD (Mayo Clinic Arizona)
Description: Appropriate management of traumatic brain injury requires a multidisciplinary approach. The various specialties need to be aware of the rationale and role of the other healthcare professionals involved in the care. This book is a concise, but broad overview of the multidisciplinary approach used for traumatic brain injury. This is a field that is rapidly evolving with new data, guidelines, and recommendations every year. The first edition of this book was published in 2009, but due to the evolution of science in the field, a second edition is necessary.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to provide a much-needed, coherent, but concise overview of the multidisciplinary management of traumatic brain injury from the acute assessment to rehabilitation and long-lasting sequelae. These are worthy objectives because the various disciplines need to be fully aware of what the other specialists are doing in efforts to provide optimal patient care. This type of book with broad authorship and comprehensive multidisciplinary topics covering the spectrum of traumatic brain injury is unique and much needed. The book does meet its objectives, especially for moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Although there are chapters and sections dedicated to mild traumatic brain injury, they are short and not in-depth.
Audience: As indicated by the authors, this book is written for all the players in the care of a person with traumatic brain injury, ranging from healthcare professionals in neurology, neurosurgery, critical care medicine, maxillofacial surgery, anesthesia, emergency medicine, neuropsychology, rehabilitation and therapy, pathology, and basic science. I would agree this book meets the needs of the audience indicated by the authors. The chapters are written by experts in the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, critical care medicine, anesthesia, rehabilitation, etc. They are qualified authors based on credentials, research, and publications.
Features: The topic of the management of traumatic brain injury patients is very broad because it spans the spectrum of mild to moderate to severe traumatic brain injury from acute assessment to long-term sequelae. In addition, at each stage, multiple disciplines are involved in patient care. This book provides an overview of this spectrum of care. Although the book provides a chapter and other sections on mild traumatic brain injury, it focuses primarily on moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Chapters encompass acute assessment, rationale for neuroimaging, early phase care, intensive care management from intracranial pressure monitoring to surgical management to brain death assessment, and rehabilitation. The best aspect of this book is that it provides healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with traumatic brain injury the opportunity to see the injury from a perspective of a different discipline. It is both sufficiently detailed, yet concise. The most unique feature of this book is that the authorship is drawn from a wide range of specialties. The book provides a very brief, superficial review of mild traumatic brain injury. This section could have been expanded and updated. Otherwise, it should indicate that a full discussion of mild traumatic brain injury was out of the scope of the book's purpose.
Assessment: This book is of good quality, useful for healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with a traumatic brain injury, and of high value compared to other books in the field due to its broad authorship and multidisciplinary approach. The science and care of traumatic brain injury is in active evolution and, due to recent advancements in the field, a second edition of this book was needed.
