Respiratory Care: A Guide to Clinical Practice

Here is the classic respiratory text -- completely revised and updated for the fourth edition! Now featuring an even stronger clinical focus, this standard-setting reference reflects the latest research findings, therapies and equipment, providing the reader with the most up-to-date information available anywhere. The larger format of this latest edition reflects a wealth of changes. Each chapter in this resourceful text now begins with an outline, providing an overview of the material to be covered and alerting the reader to the most important information. Clinical Skills in clinical chapters, based on the RRT and CRTT exam review matrices, provide learning objectives and prepare the reader for these exams. Professional Skills, provided with the non-clinical chapters, serve as learning objectives and offer opportunities for personal growth. Numerous boxes -- including equation boxes -- emphasize key information and reinforce its importance. Guidelines for treatment from the American Association of Respiratory Care are highlighted in boxes, acquainting the reader with essential standards of practice. Therapist Driven Protocols are presented in the form of flow charts, defining the procedures for treatment in the clinical setting. A greater number of illustrations highlight and enhance key respiratory care concepts. Many new chapters offer the most current thinking on: the future of respiratory care; cardiopulmonary monitoring; bronchial hygiene therapy; volume expansion therapy; bronchial asthma; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; interstitial lung diseases; industrial, environmental, and self-induced pulmonary diseases; and acute adult respiratory distress syndromes.