'Hands-on guide to clinical pharmacology', by Sukhdev Chatu, Alexander Milson and Christopher Tofield. Pp x+161. Price £9.99. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 2000. ISBN 0 632 055189.
This pocket-size, paperback book has been written by three final-year medical students from St Bartholomew's and the Royal London hospital school of medicine and dentistry, having collated their revision notes. It is designed to be a quick access database on drugs commonly used in medical practice. The authors describe the book as having two purposes: (i) to provide a study aid for students of clinical pharmacology and (ii) to serve as a practical reference on wards.
Organised according to body systems, each of the 12 chapters (which include management of common conditions such as myo-cardial infarction, asthma and epilepsy) gives an introduction to the medical management of the condition followed by a page devoted to a particular drug in an A-Z format, giving a total of 105 commonly used drugs. Each drug page has the same layout and includes brief details on indications, mechanism of action, adverse effects, contraindications, interactions, route of administration, general notes and, finally, a related drugs list. There are no doses mentioned and the route of administration section is very brief.
The notes section is of interest as it contains information not easily found in the British National Formulary, unlike information in the other sections.
Each of the management sections is written in a bulleted format making reading very easy. Where possible, the authors have included shortened versions of national guidelines which are already published in the BNF. These management sections are very brief and the comment that these are best obtained from an appropriate formulary is to be noted.
The two purposes of this text are only partly achieved. As a study aid, this text would be of use, particularly to pharmacy students, return-to-practice pharmacists and foreign pharmacists training in Britain. But I feel that its use as a practical reference on wards would be very limited. I would advise use of the BNF.
Reviewer - Andrzej Kostrzewski is principal pharmacist for education and training at Guy's and St Thomas's hospital trust, London, and postgraduate clinical lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, University of London