Principles and Practices of Pharmacology for Anaesthetists 4th Edition

The aim of this well–established text is to provide a comprehensive, scientific account of pharmacology and a guide to the use of drugs is it relates to the practice of clinical anaesthesia. It is of considerable value to candidates sitting the FRCA examination, but will also be of use to any practicing anaesthetist wanting to brush up on his or her pharmacology knowledge.

The book is now in its fourth edition and all chapters have been thoroughly updated with these aims in mind. A conscious decision has been made to shorten the book by approximately 100 pages so that it remains a concise and useable reference.

The first five chapters cover the fundamental principles of pharmacology, including the pharmacokinetics, drug interactions and variability in drug response. The authors successfully cover these potentially dry subjects in a very readable and user–friendly way.

The rest of the text is devoted to detailed coverage of the classes of drug used in anaethesia. Each of these latter chapters include a discussion of subjects such as chemical and physical properties, effects on the various systems, pharmacokinetics, mode of action, clinical uses, unwanted effects and treatment of adverse reactions. Relevant physiology is also given where appropriate.

The broad coverage of this book means that readers do not need to refer to a basic pharmacology or physiology text, but can use this as a primary resource, whether they are studying for a postgraduate examination or just keeping up to date.