 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
1 College of Pharmacy, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
Published Online, August 29, 2006. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1H262
Format: This is a 2 volume hardcover book with a CD-ROM. The CD contains 2 files: the text of each chapter as it appears in the book and images. Some of the references are hyperlinked to PubMed.
System Requirements: The minimum system requirements for Microsoft Windows are: Pentium III 1 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 800 x 600 pixels screen resolution, 256 colors, and Windows 98, 2000, ME, or XP operating system. The only differences in the minimum requirements for Macintosh are: G4 1 GHz processor and Mac OS X or higher operating system. Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat Reader are required to view some of the contents.
Audience: Healthcare providers in the tropics or those who care for individuals who have been in the tropics.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to provide the clinician with a description of the cultural, social, and nutritional issues associated with tropical infectious diseases. Hostorganism interactions, toxins, venoms, poisonous plants, and vectors are explained. The focus of the book encompasses organisms and the diseases caused by these organisms.
Content: The text is divided into 3 sections: (1) Principles and General Information, (2) Pathogens, and (3) Practice: Approach to Patients in the Tropics. The first section comprises approximately 12% of the total content and discusses cultural, social, and nutritional issues associated with tropical infectious diseases, animal poisons, plant toxins, vector biology, immunology, bioterrorism threats, and the chemotherapy of the various pathogens. The second section, which describes tropical pathogens, comprises approximately 69% of the total content. Life cycles, diseases caused by and the treatment of bacteria, mycobacteria, spirochetes, chlamydia, rickettsia, viruses, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, and ectoparasitic organisms are presented. Common worldwide community-acquired bacterial pathogens and the types of infections they cause are briefly discussed. The third section is organized both by subpopulations (eg, travelers, military, immigrants) and by clinical presentation (eg, gastrointestinal, fever, cutaneous lesions) and provides the clinician with algorithms and tables detailing the diagnosis of the various conditions in the differential diagnosis.
Usability: The chapters are concise, easy to read, and well organized. The references are up to date, and older references that are used are necessary due to the lack of newer information.
Highlights: The CD-ROM is easy to use and some of the references are hyperlinked to PubMed, making it easy for the reader to access the articles. The use of tables, figures, and pictures throughout the book and the algorithms in the Practice section are very informative and user friendly.
Limitations: There is no discussion of symptoms monitoring or timelines for expected response to therapy.
Comparison with Previous Edition: This edition includes chapters that discuss social and cultural factors in tropical medicine; ways of distinguishing tropical infectious diseases from bioterrorism; migrant, immigrant, and refugee health; tropical infectious diseases in pregnancy; Nipah and Hendra viral infections; and delusional parasitosis. Other chapters are updated and new color plates have been added.
Comparison with Other Related Books: This 2 volume text goes beyond most other tropical infectious disease books. It covers not only infections and organisms unique to tropical areas but also common bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens that are prevalent worldwide.
Reviewer's Summary: Tropical Infectious Diseases: Principles, Pathogens, & Practice is a book that promises to be very useful to clinicians who care for patients who visit or live in the tropics. It is also useful to infectious diseases specialists, but knowledge of infectious diseases is required to fully understand this book.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
