Hands-on Guide to Clinical Pharmacology

Sukhdev Chatu, Alexander Milson and Christopher Tofield
Blackwell Science, £9.99
ISBN 0 632 05518 9
Rating: 3/4

Ever wondered how many more pocket books you could possibly pack into your white coat? Well make room, there's one more. Similar in size to the Oxford handbooks, though only a third as thick, this book is pitched as a pocket book on drugs for medical students and junior doctors.

Three final year medical undergraduates from the University of London have compiled this text, describing the 105 drugs most likely to be encountered during your training.

It is divided into 12 chapters, each relating to a bodily system or a broader topic such as infection, anaesthesia, and poisoning. Each chapter offers the reader management guidelines for the most common illnesses within that system. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for example, are described before the five most commonly used respiratory drugs (beclomethasone, oxygen, salbutamol, sodium cromoglicate, and theophylline) are scrutinised.

A standard format is used to outline each of the 105 drugs, similar to existing pharmacology books. The indications, mechanism of action, adverse effects, contraindications, interactions, route of administration, notes, and related drugs are all given. The authors acknowledge that the adverse effects and interactions are not exhaustive, and refer the reader to the British National Formulary for a more comprehensive list.

Rarer diseases and infrequently used therapeutics that our seniors enjoy teaching, and that we find interesting to read, are not covered in this text. However, the description of commonly used drugs is more than adequate for the undergraduate. Drugs listed even include agents that most students neglect, such as lactulose, ferrous sulphate and the BCG vaccine.

This is a good ward companion, should space permit, or a concise accompaniment to a more comprehensive pharmacology text. A good buy at under £10.00.

James S Dawson, fourth year medical student, University of Leicester
Email: jsd7@leicester.ac.uk


studentBMJ 2000;08:347-394 October ISSN 0966-6494