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Senior Scientist, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacy Team Leader, Department of Pharmacy, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health
Clinical Specialist, Endocrinology and Women's Health; Director, Drug Information Service, Department of Pharmacy, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health
Published Online, March 25, 2008. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1K623
Format: In addition to the conventional hardback format, an online subscription service via MedicinesComplete was recently launched. A single-user CD-ROM based on the 7th edition is also being marketed. The book is divided into 35 chapters containing more than 3100 concise monographs produced by an editor, 8 staff members, a digital products team, and 2 editorial consultants.
Audience: The book is intended for healthcare providers and students in training in relevant fields of the health sciences.
Purpose: This book is intended to serve as a concise yet comprehensive compendium of drug interactions for the busy clinician who needs quick access to reliable information at the point of care.
Content: Complemented by tables and figures that highlight key concepts, the book's first chapter provides a brief overview of important concepts relevant to the detection, evaluation, and management of drug interactions. It includes definitions, incidence, common mechanisms, and concepts regarding severity assessment and management. The remaining 34 chapters are organized according to drug class. Each chapter consists of structured monographs arranged alphabetically according to a specific drug or drug class, along with an interacting substance, including therapeutic drugs, proprietary medicines, dietary supplements, foods, drinks, drugs of abuse, and even pesticides. For each of the interaction pairs—numbering more than 17,000—there is a short summary, along with in-depth clinical evidence for each interaction, discussion of mechanism, assessment of clinical relevance, guidance on how to manage the interaction, and key references.
Usability: This book is a convenient source of detailed information regarding major drug-drug, drug-herb, drug-nutrient, and other types of interactions. The monographs are generally concise and contain the basic elements for assessing and managing most clinically significant drug interactions.
Highlights: In this edition, all existing monographs have been reviewed, revalidated, and updated, and more than 300 new monographs have been added. More than 130 new monographs extend the scope of coverage to herbal medicines, dietary supplements, and foods and fruit juices. Sufficient uniformity in presentation is maintained throughout the chapters and monographs. At the beginning of each chapter, a brief overview facilitates the understanding of proposed mechanisms. Supporting tables include an alphabetized list of drug classes and generic drug names within each class. The index section is comprehensive and well cross-referenced.
Limitations: As is the case with any hardback format, revisions of content are only possible with new editions. This textbook has been revised every 2-4 years since the second edition was published in 1991.
Also, the lack of chapter tabs on the right margin of the book and absence of a brand-name index reduce searching efficiency.
Comparison with Other Related Books: Stockley's textbook compares favorably with other widely available drug interaction resources. However, although it is generally more detailed than other works, this book does not provide a formal classification of clinical significance, onset, severity, and/or extent of documentation to aid the novice. Further, in contrast with loose-leaf print material and certain other media, the hardback format does not allow for timely updates and precludes multiple drug queries, which are key functions of electronic drug interaction databases.
Reviewers' Summary: The 8th edition of Stockley's Drug Interactions is a useful and authoritative drug interaction resource. The monographs are generally well researched, well written, and contain useful information for assessing and managing drug interactions. While the book complements available electronic databases, it does not replace their established utility in clinical practice.
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