This work represents a collection of articles given during the 15th Annual Symposium on Acute Medicine held by the University of Southern California. The authors include many persons important in the development and current practice of intensive care and acute care medicine. Several chapters are short, and the titles may promise more than is delivered.
Examples of the latter might include "Techniques on Monitoring Intracranial Pressure." The chapter on "Total Parenteral Nutrition in the Critically Ill" presents an excellent review of this important subject.
Almost all of the material is repeated from the various author's original work, with little that can be considered new or original. However, the extensive list of references will allow those who are so motivated to pursue these topics in greater depth. Finally, the addition of pertinent questions at the end of the book follows the current format for teaching instruments in the field of medicine.