Improvised Medicine

Deliver quality healthcare in the most challenging field conditions'Dr Iserson has given us a most remarkable book. Many readers may be familiar with David Werner’s lay healthworker book, Where There Is No Doctor; this new volume could be titled Where There Is a Doctor-But No Stuff. Drawing from his experience providing care in international, wilderness, and disaster settings, he has compiled an impressive collection of bare-bones equipment and work-around strategies to provide the best possible care in resource-poor settings. While presenting many creative examples, the purpose of the book is not to offer an exhaustive list of solutions to missing resource challenges but to inspire creativity in readers who may find themselves needing to improvise.' -- Family MedicineFull of practical clinical pearls and proven strategies, this indispensible guide shows you how to operate outside your comfort zone and devise effective treatment solutions when the traditional tools (medications, equipment, and staff) are unavailable-or when you need to provide care outside of your specialty. Improvised Medicine is a must for anyone who plans to work in global, disaster, or other resource-poor settings.FEATURES: Simple-to-follow directions, diagrams, and illustrations describe practical techniques and the improvised equipment necessary to provide quality care during crises.Contains improvisations in anesthesia and airway management, dentistry, gynecology/obstetrics, infectious disease/laboratory diagnosis, internal medicine, otolaryngology, pediatrics and malnutrition, orthopedics, psychiatry, and surgery.Also includes basic disaster communication techniques, post-disaster forensics, a model hospital disaster plan, and innovative patient-transport methods.LEARN HOW TO: Make an endotracheal tube in secondsPerform digital-oral and blind-nasotracheal intubationsMake plaster bandages for splints/castsGive open-drop ether, ketamine drips, and halothaneUse subcutaneous/intraperitoneal rehydration/transfusionMake ORS and standard nutrition formulasClean, disinfect, and sterilize equipment for reuseWarm blood units in seconds inexpensivelyTake/view stereoscopic x-rays with standard equipmentQuickly and easily stop postpartum hemorrhageFashion surgical equipment from common itemsEvacuate patients easily for high-rise hospitalsMake esophageal and precordial stethoscopesQuickly improvise a saline lockMake ECG electrode/defibrillator pads and ultrasound gel