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Statistical Methods for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

Paul Myles, Tony Gin. Butterworth Heineman Oxford, 2000. 152 pages. $42.50. ISBN 0-7506-4065-0

Toronto, Ontario

As the title claims, this 152-page book purports to provide a basic understanding of statistics for anesthesiologists and intensivists. The authors wisely point out that it is necessary to have an understanding of research methods and statistical principles for the evaluation and clinical application of new medical advances. Unfortunately for many practicing clinicians, exposure to "statistics" incites a major panic attack! Does this book help to allay the fears of anesthesiologists?

There are several nice things about this book. All of the examples used are from anesthesia practice or literature. For example, in describing types of data, ASA preoperative risk score illustrates ordinal data. The text is easily understandable and the use of jargon is minimized as much as possible. The book happily includes concepts of clinical epidemiology and research design as well as statistical issues.

On the other hand, the book has breadth and little depth. This is not a "how to do statistics" book, but rather a brief description of statistical concepts. The references cited rely heavily on a series on statistics published in the British Medical Journal in 1995/1996 and few original references are provided.

So who is this book for? It is not for those familiar with statistics as they would find this book too elementary. Conversely, those not familiar with statistical concepts, will find this book difficult as it is too brief to be an introductory text. The book will not likely allay the fears of anesthesiologists and intentivists, but may serve as a handy reference to look up definitions of particular items.

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