Humana Press Inc.

Acute Care for Elders (ACE) is a model of care designed to improve functional outcomes and to improve the processes for the care of older patients. This model includes: an environment of care designed to promote improved function for older patients; an interdisciplinary team that works together to identify/address the vulnerabilities of the older patients; nursing care plans for prevention of disability; early planning to help prepare the patient to return home and a review of medical care to prevent iatrogenic illness. Acute Care for Elders: A Model for Interdisciplinary Care is an essential new resource aimed at assisting providers in developing and sustaining an ACE program. The interdisciplinary approach provides an introduction to the key vulnerabilities of older adults and defines the lessons learned from the Acute Care for Elders model. Expertly written chapters describe critical aspects of ACE: the interdisciplinary approach and the focus on function. The fundamental principles of ACE described in this book will further assist hospital leaders to develop, implement, sustain and disseminate the Acute Care for Elders model of care. Acute Care for Elders: A Model for Interdisciplinary Care is of great value to geriatricians, hospitalists, advance practice nurses, social workers and all others who provide high quality care to older patients.

Bladder Dysfunction in the Adult: The Basis for Clinical Management succinctly describes all that the healthcare professional needs to know when treating lower urinary tract symptoms. The book describes how to assess and treat every group of patients likely to be affected with bladder problems and the underlying mechanisms responsible. Women with stress incontinence, men with enlarged prostates, people with neurological disease and the elderly are all discussed in particular detail. For all professionals treating or learning to treat patients with urinary storage or voiding problems, the concise presentation and thorough coverage provides treatment recommendations and clear explanations. Authored by recognized experts in their respective fields, Bladder Dysfunction in the Adult: The Basis for Clinical Management is a comprehensive resource that allows the reader to develop the knowledge, understanding and confidence to deal with the many clinical challenges of bladder dysfunction.

The origin of modern intensive care units (ICUs) has frequently been attributed to the widespread provision of mechanical ventilation within dedicated hospital areas during the 1952 Copenhagen polio epidemic. However, modern ICUs have developed to treat or monitor patients who have any severe, life-threatening disease or injury. These patients receive specialized care and vital organ assistance such as mechanical ventilation, cardiovascular support, or hemodialysis. ICU patients now typically occupy approximately 10% of inpatient acute care beds, yet the structure and organization of these ICUs can be quite different across hospitals. In The Organization of Critical Care: An Evidence-Based Approach to Improving Quality, leaders provide a concise, evidence-based review of ICU organizational factors that have been associated with improved patient (or other) outcomes. The topics covered are grouped according to four broad domains: (1) the organization, structure, and staffing of an ICU; (2) organizational approaches to improving quality of care in an ICU; (3) integrating ICU care with other healthcare provided within the hospital and across the broader healthcare system; and (4) international perspectives on critical care delivery. Each chapter summarizes a different aspect of ICU organization and targets individual clinicians and healthcare decision makers. A long overdue contribution to the field, The Organization of Critical Care: An Evidence-Based Approach to Improving Quality is an indispensable guide for all clinicians and health administrators concerned with achieving state-of-the-art outcomes for intensive care.

Clinical research in critical care has exploded in the past several years and we now have a much better understanding of how to care for intensive care unit (ICU) patients in areas such as management of sepsis, fluid resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, antibiotic administration and sedation and analgesia. However, despite improved clinical care, many critically ill patients continue to experience complications of critical illness - some complications are iatrogenic and preventable, while others are simply a component of the natural history of critical illness. These complications lead to increased mortality, morbidity, cost and long-term chronic conditions. Non-Pulmonary Complications of Critical Care: A Clinical Guide is a valuable resource for trainees and clinicians who aim to better understand and improve the quality of critical care medicine. Armed with information about potential non-pulmonary complications of ICU care and strategies to minimize or prevent those complications, the critical care clinician will be able to help ICU patients potentially avoid much of the morbidity associated with critical illness. This book is organized by organ system such that it can be easily used as a bedside reference. Complications caused by pharmaceuticals are dispersed throughout every chapter and the concluding chapters provide a special emphasis on meticulous supportive care of the critically ill patient to allow the best chance for recovery.

Skin Cancer: A Practical Approach presents a comprehensive and up to date overview on skin cancer. With an emphasis on practical aspects that will set the basis for guidelines of treatment, the volume presents different diagnostic tools to help physicians obtain the proper diagnosis. Written by a worldwide base of experts selected on their recognized expertise on the different themes discussed, Skin Cancer: A Practical Approach is a valuable resource for investigators in the field of skin cancer, including pathologists, medical and surgical oncologists, dermatologists, general surgeons, and veterinary oncologists

Secondary forms of hypertension are not uncommon in clinical prac- tice, but they are often overlooked or forgotten by clinicians in many fields of medicine. Dr. George Mansoor' s volume on Secondary Hyper- tension is an important contribution to the field of clinical hypertension and vascular diseases, since it brings up to date the numerous diagnostic and therapeutic advances in the evaluation for secondary types of hyper- tension. In the past, textbooks usually stated that an etiology could be determined in less than 5% of patients presenting with newly diagnosed hypertension. We now know this is far too low a proportion (e.g., pri- mary hyperaldosteronism alone may account for hypertension in 5% of patients presenting with chronic elevations in blood pressure). Secondary Hypertension has been thoughtfully organized into chap- ters evaluating screening and diagnosis, as well as medical and/or sur- gical intervention of the well-known etiologies of secondary hypertension in adults and children. Additional coverage is given to such exogenous or lesser appreciated causes of secondary hypertension as obstructive sleep apnea and drugs. These sections make this book novel because in the past little attention has been paid to the effects of noncar- diac drugs that interfere with antihypertensive therapy or to exogenous substances that might induce refractory hypertension.