Handbook of Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid–Base Balance

Handbook of Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Balance aims to present the fundamentals of fluid, electrolyte and acid-base disturbances, which may be present in most seriously ill patients coming to the emergency or in the wards or ICUs, The subject is presented in eight chapters following a simple and easily understandable format. The initial chapters discuss the subdivisions of body fluid compartments, distribution and chemical composition of various body fluids and their homeostasis under normal circumstances. The important chapter on the type of fluids available and guidelines for their use will help the clinician to choose the appropriate type of fluid for the correct indication, Subsequent chapters on electrolytes discuss the approach to diagnosis and management of the common abnormalities encountered in clinical practice. A clear understanding of the fundamentals is necessary for comprehending the apparently ‘difficult’ subject of acid-base disorders. The last chapter is devoted to this and is written in a simple narrative format, This should enable the reader to ? Understand the basic terms and investigations to assess the acid-base status, ? Identify a simple acid-base disorder ? Assess if the body’s response to a given situation is appropriate or not ? Suspect double or multiple disorders in the same patient. Obviously, it is not possible to cover the vast subject in less than 100 pages. More serious disorders may be handled by the subject expert but the basic clinician should be able to assess the simple problems and also identify the more complicated ones for timely referral, The book will enable the reader to grasp the subject clearly and also serve as a handbook for quick reference, Doctors working in hospitals could then manage the simple clinical situations themselves well and refer more complicated cases to the expert, R KasiVisweswaran MD. DM (Nephrology), FRCP (Edin) is Consultant in Nephrology, Ananthapuri Hospitals and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram; ex-Professor of Nephrology, Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram; and Visiting Professor, Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla, Kerala. He is one of the senior nephrologists in the country and has served as head of nephrology and postgraduate teacher in medical colleges for over 35 years. He has set up numerous departments of nephrology in medical colleges and other hospitals, He was president of Indian Society of Nephrology (ISN), and is the founder member and ex-chairman of the Southern Chapter of ISN and Nephrology Association of Kerala. Dr Kasi Visweswaran has contributed chapters in important national and international textbooks in medicine and nephrology and has also edited books and monographs Essentials of Nephrology, Prescribing Drugs in Renal Diseases and Current Progress in Nephrology (coedited with Claudio Ponticelli). Another book edited by him, Basics of Kidney, Renal Disease, Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Balance, is also being published by CBSPD simultaneously.