Acutely ill patients often require urgent surgical interventions preceded by a STAT imaging study. In such scenarios, a surgeon must integrate the gathered clinical information with study results and make timely treatment decisions. In a recent query of surgeons, 75% reported frequent reliance on their own imaging interpretation to guide patient care in acute situations or instances in which radiologists were unavailable for consultation. (Butler, unpublished data) A surgeon's ability to translate radiologic findings to the bedside and operating room in an efficient and confident manner can influence patient treatment outcomes.
Acute Care Surgery: Imaging Essentials for Rapid Diagnosis aims to equip the acute care surgeon, general surgeon, and surgical trainee with the skills to efficiently workup and diagnose critical surgical disease. The book opens with practical guidelines for understanding and interpreting the key imaging modalities employed in acute care surgery. In-depth discussions of acute surgical conditions follow, with emphasis on workup, diagnosis, and pattern recognition on imaging. Each clinical chapter opens with a case scenario, followed by detailed discussion of pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management and includes multiple annotated examples of ultrasound, plain film, CT, and MRI findings. Although targeted toward surgeons and surgical residents, emergency medicine physicians and radiologists will also find this book a valuable resource.
This textbook in no way replaces consultation with a radiologist or review of a formal radiology report. Rather, Acute Care Surgery: Imaging Essentials for Rapid Diagnosis aims to assist practitioners managing acute, life-threatening surgical illness when a radiologist is unavailable. Discussion with a radiologist is and should always be the standard of care.