Reichel's Care of the Elderly: Clinical Aspects of Aging, 8th Edition Doody's Expert Review Review Questionnaire ISBN: 9781108837767 ISBN-10: 110883776X Copyright: 2022 Edition: 8th Editor: Busby-Whitehead, Jan, Durso, Samuel C., Arenson, Christine, Palmer, Mary H., Elon, Rebecca, Reichel, William, Doody's Expert Review    Score: 82 Doody's Star Rating™ and Doody's Expert Review provide by Doody Enterprises, Inc. Reviewer: Belinda Setters,  MD, MS, FACP, AGSF  (Robley Rex VA Medical Center) Description This book is dedicated to the clinical care of older adult patients, covering topics from the biological principles of aging and comprehensive geriatric assessments to organ-based disorders common in older adults, like sleep disturbances and osteoporosis. It also discusses specific topics like post-acute and long-term care, geriatric emergency department care, and hospital care of older adults. The book includes additional topics of interest such as geriatric sexuality, substance abuse, and medical decision making. This eighth edition is a necessary follow up, as many updates have occurred in practice since its original publication in 2009. Purpose The purpose of the book is to provide an updated overview of the clinical care of older adult patients (previously described as "geriatric"). This is a very worthy objective, and the book is very inclusive of a wide variety of topics within the ever-expanding field of geriatric medicine. The book meets its objective and does great job of including topics of more recent interest to clinicians, like substance abuse, sexuality, ethical decision making, and caregiving. The downside to such wide breadth is that, at times, the book leaves clinician readers wanting more in-depth coverage, challenging the role of such comprehensive texts in modern medicine. Additionally, given the time needed to compile such an enormous text, some more recent advances may have been lost during the publication process. Audience The book is intended for clinicians in the field of geriatric medicine and/or those who provide care to older adult patients, especially family practitioners and internists. It is specifically written as an overview for trainees as well (e.g., medical students and residents). The book reaches its audience, although its very nature leaves more inquisitive readers wanting more in some chapters. The authors are experts in the field of geriatric medicine and their credentials are exceptional. Many individual chapter contributors are also very well-respected authorities in their specialty areas, while others are newer to the field of geriatrics, and therefore are less experienced clinicians or researchers. Notably, the authors pay tribute to Dr. William Reichel's contributions to geriatric medicine in a well-written "In Memoriam" forward. Features The book overviews the biology of aging, ethics of medical decision making, and comprehensive geriatric assessments, as well as many common age-associated disease states. It also covers geriatric "syndromes," which typically have multiple etiologies resulting in one clinical presentation (e.g., falls and dizziness). The book discusses some geriatric syndromes such as sensory loss, osteoporosis, and sleep disorders in the third portion on organ-specific diseases. However, it is perplexing for readers to see some syndromes in one section while others are relegated to the organ portion of the book. While the organ section gathers similar topics (e.g., cardiovascular chapters on hypertension and heart disease are adjacent), some areas appear a bit out of place. For example, the last section of the book on "Principles of Care," which contains surgical, rehab, and ethics chapters, also covers sexuality, while the third section on organ-based diseases includes emergency medicine. Subdivision within the sections may be helpful to the book's organization. Assessment This book is a good addition to the field and a welcome update of the prior editions. It has a very wide breadth and includes topics on the COVID-19 pandemic, ethical decision making, sexuality, and emergency medicine, which are nice additions. In its approach to being so inclusive and wide-reaching, the book does limit space within individual chapters, such as those on delirium and pharmacy, which leaves readers wanting more information at times. 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. 4 1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 3 1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 3 1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 3 1-5 Are there sufficient references? 5 1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 3 1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 4 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? 6 1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10 ©2024 Doody Enterprises, Inc.