Anaesthesia for the Elderly Patient

Professor Chris Dodds is a retired Consultant Anaesthetist at the Department of Anaesthesia, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK.Professor Chandra M. Kumar is a Senior Consultant in Anaesthesia at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore.Dr Frédérique Servin is a Consultant in Anaesthesia in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Department of Anaesthesiology, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital, Paris, France

• 1: Definitions, social trends and epidemiology 2: Pathophysiological changes of ageing and their relevance to anaesthesia 3: Anaesthetic pharmacology in the elderly 4: Pre-operative assessment and preparation of elderly patients undergoing major surgery 5: Day case anaesthesia in the elderly 6: Emergency anaesthesia in the elderly 7: Anaesthesia for orthopaedic surgery in the elderly 8: Anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery in the elderly 9: Neurosurgery in the elderly 10: Urological and gynaecological surgery in the elderly 11: Post-operative care and analgesia 12: Intensive care and the elderly 13: Non-theatre anaesthesia and the elderly 14: Cognitive dysfunction and sleep disorders 15: Ethics and the law involving elderly

In our opinion, this book succeeds in accomplishing 2 goals: it provides a solid starting point and serves as an excellent guide for trainees/young anesthetists, and it simultaneously supplements the knowledge of the most expert colleagues. The topic is particularly suited to a pocket-sized, synthetic, and easy-to-read book like this. In fact, since anesthesia in the elderly is not a subspecialty and every anesthesiologist will increasingly face aged patients, the most experienced colleagues will likely appreciate this useful and practical guide in their daily practice.