Author: Helen Gharaei
Published by: The author
Publication year: 2021
ISBN Nil
Chapters: 5 with 10 to 14 parts in each chapter
Number of pages: 646
Helen Gharaei is a well-known name in the circles of clinicians in practice of interventional pain management. She has extensive experience in the newer modalities being used in this field, e.g., ultrasonography guided regional techniques including peripheral nerve blocks, intra-articular injections, as well as central neuraxial blocks. She has a number of published papers in national and medical journals on pain management to her credit, and has travelled extensively to participate in pain related conferences and training workshops.
‘Clinical Pearls in Interventional Pain Management’ is her latest book, and within no time it gained wide-spread popularity, so that she had to order a second imprint published. This book is in the format of multiple choice questions (MCQ’s). The backbone of any examination today is MCQ’s, and it has led to authors of different fields to compile MCQ books on almost every specialty. ‘Clinical Pearls in Interventional Pain Management’ is a new addition in the list of MCQ books available in the market. Examinees and the examiners find these MCQ books useful as these provide a comprehensive review of the diverse topics being currently examined for in any fellowship examination. It is an excellent help to physicians in training and practicing health professionals to master concepts crucial for success in the pain medicine boards.
This book has been divided into five chapters;
Chapter 1 consists of the painful conditions related to the spinal column and the attached muscular and ligamentous pain syndromes. This chapter consists of 12 parts.
Chapter 2 consists of 14 parts mostly related to trauma related neuropathic pain syndromes, as well as various pain conditions arising from compartment syndromes and compression related neuropathies.
Chapter 3 has assorted topics including some block techniques. Post-herpetic pain, sympathetic and splanchnic blocks have also been included here.
Chapter 4 mainly covers 11 chapters on head and neck conditions, including cluster headache and trigeminal block and sphenopalatine ganglion blocks.
Chapter 5 has 10 parts related to muscular and joint pains in the upper and lower limbs and their management. Particular emphasis has been given to the shoulder joint and the knee joint pains.
Each Part has questions consisting of a variable number of MCQ (choose one type), followed by answers. The reader can mark the most suitable answer.
The author has put in strenuous labor in formulation of the questions and to retain their relevance to the topic of the part.
The answers are given in simple language and are informative; very brief and to the point, but liberally illustrated with diagrams, graphs, photographs as well as the USG and radiological pictures. It makes the reader to easily assimilate the main features of the topic, including etiology, pathogenesis and the management.
The reader may find some duplication in the parts in different chapters, but on detailed study one will find that the same terminology is in widespread use for the pain in different parts of the spine, for example discogenic pain or facetogenic pain may be in cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine area. At the end the author has listed a long list of literature on pain and pain management. It would have been better, had the list been divided in parts, e.g., scientific papers; book chapters; books; audio-visuals etc. and numbered according to the decreasing relevance of usefulness.
There are several language and typographical mistakes in the text, but the overall presentation does not let the reader to get stuck at any point.
The book price might look to be quite high, especially for the pain enthusiasts belonging to the low income countries, but it can be justified seeing that it has been the solo effort by the author, without any sponsorship or being published by a reputable international publisher.
The book is published on good art paper in four colors and can be used as a pocket book by the pain medicine students preparing for exams for fellowship or different diplomas / certificates in pain medicine (e.g., MSc, FCPS, MCPS, FIPP, CIP etc.), as well as the pain practitioners for ready reference.
It can be summed up that Helen Gharaei has added a valuable mini-reference guide to the available pain management books, and the pain medicine students and clinicians will find it equally useful.
Tariq Hayat Khan, MCPS, FCPS.
Consultant Anesthesiologist & Pain Management,
25-E, Ibn-e-Sina Road, G-10/3, Islamabad, Pakistan.
E-mail: apicare@yahoo.com