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Solid Organ Transplantation: A Handbook for Primary Health Care Providers
Sandra A. Cupples, Linda Ohler, eds. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company; 2002. 430 pages.

Reviewed by Patricia Radovich RN, MSN, CNS

The lack of available comprehensive, concise transplantation information has made it more difficult for healthcare professionals to provide care for transplant recipients. The authors of Solid Organ Transplantation provide and in-depth discussion of specific organ transplantation issues, as well as general care issues that may affect all transplant recipients. The psychosocial concerns, infectious disease issues, specific nutritional aspects, and pregnancy after transplantation are areas that can be especially complex because of the long-term immunosuppression these clients require.

This book is written for primary healthcare providers who may be caring for potential transplant recipients, assisting in the initial evaluation for the transplantation, providing follow-up before the transplantation, and reassuming care after the transplantation has occurred. Solid Organ Transplantation is a valuable resource reviewing both the inpatient and outpatient aspects of transplantation. The authors have compiled information regarding the overall transplantation process from organ allocation to care of clients receiving specific organ transplants. The text provides information, which assists the care provider in understanding the rationale for pre-transplant testing, common infectious diseases that affect transplant recipients with the clinical manifestations and treatment, organ specific function surveillance and rejection information.

Tables provide the reader with rapid access to the book’s information. Also, an appendix provides a clear and concise review of transplant immunology. The authors have also provided guidance to the primary care provider regarding aspects of care for each organ, which require contact with the transplant center.

The physicians and nurse practitioners caring for transplant recipients will find the sections on specific organ transplants a wealth of information regarding indications, contraindications, donor selection, surgical procedures, preoperative and postoperative care, immunotherapy, and long-term complications. In addition, the discussion of transplantation pharmacotherapy is invaluable to the primary healthcare provider in providing clear concise tables discussing the various immunosuppressive agents, their indications, dosing, administration pharmacokinetics, side effects, and therapeutic drug monitoring. This text is an important addition to the library of those in the community caring for transplant recipients.

Patricia Radovich is a clinical nurse specialist in Hepatology at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, Calif.

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