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Smith’s Anesthesia for Infants and Children, Seventh Edition

Etsuro K. Motoyama, Peter J. Davis (Eds). Mosby Elsevier, 2006. 1,256 pages. ISBN 978-0323-02647-5 and 0-323-02647-8

Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary, Canada

A decade has passed since the sixth edition of Smith’s Anesthesia for Infants and Children, so the latest edition of this classic text on pediatric anesthesia is a welcome addition. The seventh edition is edited again by two pillars of pediatric anesthesiology, Drs. Etsuro Motoyama and Peter Davis, both from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. They are supported by 74 contributing authors, all of whom are from the USA, apart from two Canadian authors. Indeed, the list of authors reads very much like a who’s who of American pediatric anesthesiologists.

The book succeeds in its objectives. As with the previous edition, the text is divided into four sections dealing with Basic Principles in Pediatric Anesthesia, General Approach to Pediatric Anesthesia, Clinical Management of Special Surgical Problems, and Associated Problems in Pediatric Anesthesia. There are now 36 chapters, an increase of four; chapter headings are very similar to the previous edition, with most of the changes being in the section on Clinical Management of Special Surgical Problems. There are new chapters on psychological aspects of pediatric anesthesia, office-based pediatric anesthesia and anesthesia for fetal surgery, all of which are worthwhile additions. The accompanying DVD is of variable quality and some sections are more useful than others.

Illustrations are generally of good quality, with the ones pertaining to regional techniques being particularly valuable. The references and the index appear to be comprehensive and accurate. There are many excellent chapters, examples being the ones on psychological aspects by Dr. Zeev Kain and regional anesthesia by Dr. Allison Kinder Ross. There are very few deficiencies, and those that do exist are of a relatively minor nature. There is some understandable overlap of information; the difficult airway is addressed both under equipment (chapter 9) and maintenance of the airway (chapter 10). Neither chapter, however, mentions devices such as the Glidescope® or McCoy blade.

In summary, the editors and contributors to this edition of Smith’s Anesthesia for Infants and Children have done an excellent job, and this text clearly deserves a place in the library of any Department of Anesthesiology that takes care of children.

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