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Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiac Catheterization
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Second edition. Carl J. Pepine, James A. Hill, and Charles R. Lambert; eds. 878 pages. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1994. $95.00.
The second edition of Pepine's book is more than 40% longer than the first edition. This is due in part to the inclusion of much more detailed presentations of interventional techniques such as coronary angioplasty, atherectomy, laser angioplasty, stent placement, balloon valvuloplasty, and radiofrequency catheter ablation. The scope of the book has also been broadened to include discussions of the organization and administration of the catheterization laboratory, outpatient catheterization, mobile laboratories, conflicts of interest, and requirements for training in cardiac catheterization. Relevant recommendations regarding indications and standards for cardiac catheterization and intervention, made by task forces formed jointly by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, are summarized in detail and discussed in the text. The editors indicate that not only physicians, catheterization trainees, and laboratory personnel, but also workers in health care policy, managed care planning, and reimbursement, will find the book useful.
Sixty-two authorities from more than 20 institutions have contributed to the text, with the editors writing or cowriting 16 of the 40 chapters. A wealth of clinical and technical expertise is represented in the book.
Approximately half of the book comprises an excellent exposition of the techniques of diagnostic catheterization, including catheter introduction and manipulation, pressure and cardiac output measurement, coronary angiography, ventriculography, and shunt detection and quantification. As in the first edition, an entire chapter is devoted to catheters, sheaths, guidewires, needles, and related equipment, and another to radiographic contrast agents. An additional 145 pages cover interventional techniques. Specific products and manufacturers are identified. A chapter in the first edition on cinefilm and processing has been deleted from the second, although some of the information it contained is included elsewhere. Throughout the text, valuable emphasis is placed on technical detail, measures to ensure accurate results, and avoidance of complications. The chapters are extensively referenced.
The last quarter of the book discusses eight specific clinical conditions and includes balanced discussions of the role of cardiac catheterization in diagnosis and management and the indications for and outcomes of catheter-based intervention and surgery. The chapters on stable and unstable ischemic syndromes (including acute myocardial infarction) are particularly useful. Results of large multicenter trials are presented and their implications for clinical decision making discussed. These chapters will interest those who do not do catheterization as well as those who do.
At least four other books of similar size are devoted to cardiac catheterization. This book competes favorably with Grossman's as the most useful.
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