This new addition will provide an update on the current prophylaxis guidelines, the new diagnostic approach in the detection of the disease, the proposed schemas to predict prognosis, and the new treatment strategies to improve the outcome of patients afflicted with this serious condition.Endocarditis is a serious disease with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. The in-hospital mortality remains at 10-20%. The poor outcome of patients with this condition is due in large part to...

Written by one of the nation’s foremost experts on the diagnosis and treatment of surgical infections, Contemporary Guide to Surgical Infections™ is divided into two segments. Segment 1—Sections 1 through 10—defines and characterizes surgical infections and discusses the general principles of diagnosis and management, including routine operations and potential postoperative complications. Specific sections expand on these concepts to provide helpful information for clinicians to consider w...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been in clinical use for some 40 years, but it is only in the past decade that its application in the treatment of life-threatening circulatory and respiratory failure has truly flourished.This book presents a comprehensive overview of both pathophysiological and practical aspects of circulatory and respiratory extracorporeal support. The basics of ECMO, including its history, the “ECMO team”, cannulation, materials, and blood-surface ...

Principles and Practice of Anesthesia for Thoracic Surgery will serve as an updated comprehensive review covering not only the recent advances, but also topics that haven't been covered in previously published texts: extracorporeal ventilatory support, new advances in chest imaging modalities, lung isolation with a difficult airway, pulmonary thrombo-endarterectomy, and chronic post-thoracotomy pain. Additionally, the book features clinical case discussions at the end of each clinical chap...

Over the last century the ECG has been used by clinicians to make major clinical decisions with regard to electric pacing, the use of thrombolytic drugs in acute myocardial infarction and the timing of surgery. In conjunction with a chest X-ray and the echocardiogram it is a fundamental part of the initial investigation of a patient with suspected heart disease. These electrical squiggles have always been difficult for students to understand. In part the problem has been that the formattin...

In recent years much enthusiasm and energy has been directed toward the development of human gene therapies, especially for inherited conditions and cancers. However, current gene transfer technology is limited in its transduction efficiency and ability to permanently and safely correct genomic defects. Thus the promise of gene therapy for these conditions is as yet unrealized. The progression of gene transfer technology will eventually surmount these limitations.Gene Therapy fo...

Clostridium difficile has joined the ranks of the “super bugs” that are often resistant to antimicrobials and are flourishing in hospitals and long-term care facilities. This new handbook, written by two leading infectious disease experts, examines the epidemiology of C difficile infection, its increasing prevalence worldwide, and the options for treatment and prevention. The practice-based handbook includes the latest information about surveillance strategies and effective therapies.

Cardiothoracic Surgery covers all areas of adult and paediatric, cardiac and thoracic surgery and intensive care. This new edition, with updated cardiac surgery and thoracic sections, provides on-the-spot guidance to common and less common operative procedures. Every chapter is divided into topics presented across two pages to enable easy reference, with pages on intensive care edged in red for immediate access. Completely updated with current evidence and guidelines, the book is ...

Part of the Monographs in Cardiac Surgery Series – Introducing ‘basic science into the cardiac operating room’. Fast systematic review of small areas of cardiac surgery including up-to-date information. This will allow more rapid publication than the alternative cardiac surgery ‘tomes’. This entry into the series will provide readers with a complete review of the current understanding in mitral valve surgery and include extensive details on the diagnosis and surgical management of patients...

This book is unique in approaching multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) from the perspective of its pathophysiological mechanism, and addressing aspects that are overlooked in most of the available literature. Eminent experts in the field from Europe and beyond offer new insights into risk stratification, severity assessment, and management of critically ill patients with sepsis. The principal focus is on recently developed concepts in infection management and in antibiotic use, bear...

Advanced ischemic heart disease is fast becoming one of the most challenging problems facing the modern cardiovascular physician and current established therapies often fail to adequately address this population of patients. As therapy of heart disease evolves, we need to address the challenging questions posed by this clinical problem. Treatment of Advanced Ischemic Heart Disease brings together the most recent advances in surgical techniques, protection of the heart and postoperative car...

This book explores the unique aspects involved in the management of ECMO patients such as physiopathology and indications, setting up the device, monitoring ECMO and the patient, troubleshooting, ethical aspects and rehabilitation. For the past eight years, management of acute heart failure and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients has been improved by the development of short-term assistance devices, with ECMO as a first line treatment. This highly informative book provides ...