Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine, 3rd Edition

ISBN: 9780199204090
ISBN-10: 0199204098
Copyright: 2008
Edition: 3rd
Authors: Eddleston, Michael, Davidson, Robert, Brent, Andrew, Wilkinson, Robert,
Doody's Expert Review    Score: 94
Reviewer: Winnie Ooi,  MD, MPH, DMD  (Harvard Medical School)
Description
This is a practical, well written pocket-sized handbook for practitioners or medical students of tropical medicine working in an area of limited resources. It combines useful algorithms for common clinical problems and current WHO guidelines for classification and treatment of many infectious and noninfectious diseases. Chapters on many topics such as trauma, cardiology, mental health, and dermatology, as well as HIV infection, have undergone major expansion and revision since the last edition was published in 2005.
Purpose
This book sets out to bridge the gap between textbooks of clinical medicine (written for facilities with abundant resources) and WHO guidelines to guide practitioners in isolated, resource-poor areas. The authors meet these worthwhile objectives.
Audience
Physicians and nurses are the intended audience. The original authors, medical students when they wrote the first edition, have added many credible authorities as contributors for subsequent editions. For readers who need more detail, the book provides many useful websites.
Features
The book attempts to cover the most important and common diseases found in the tropics such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV disease in addition to other equally important topics such as nutrition. It uses the syndrome and/or symptom oriented approach to diagnosis and treatment based on WHO guidelines. The many algorithms are particularly useful in this respect. Some illustrations have been added as useful guides for diagnosis. This edition also pays more attention to treatment of trauma, which is so common in developing countries. Subsequent editions may benefit from a stronger emphasis on prevention and education.
Assessment
Based on current WHO guidelines, this is a well written, comprehensive handbook of clinical tropical medicine that will be useful for practitioners in isolated settings. This edition includes among its additions many useful diagnostic images and chapters edited or written by authorities in their areas of expertise. In particular, the different aspects of HIV disease appropriately have been given a full chapter with attention to screening and prevention, diagnosis, antiretroviral therapy (ART) and postexposure prophylaxis.
Review Questionnaire
Range Question Score
1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 10
1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10
1-5 Is this written at an appropriate level? 5
1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 4
1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 4
1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 5
1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 4
1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 4
1-5 Are there sufficient references? N/A
1-5 Rate the currency of the references. N/A
1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. N/A
1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 4
1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book N/A
1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 10
1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10