The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7222 p655
2 November 2002

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Designed for medical students but useful for all health practitioners

'Oxford textbook of clinical pharmacology and drug therapy' 3rd edition, by David G. Grahame-Smith and Jeffrey K. Aronson. Pp xiv+641. Price £29.50. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002. ISBN 0 19 263234 5

This is the third version of this textbook and, as before, the contents are aimed primarily at medical students. However, with the many changes that may occur to prescribing habits in the future, and in particular to the predicted broadening of the groups involved in prescribing, such a text will be of interest to other health practitioners.

As for the second edition, the new version is organised into four major and convenient sections dealing with the scientific basis of drug therapy, practical prescribing, the drug therapy of disease and includes a pharmacopoeia. All are produced with the help of a panel of expert co-authors.

The fact that a third edition has been produced is testimony to the value of the textbook and in general the authors should be congratulated on the clarity of the text. The book achieves a good blend of clinical detail, including pharmacological disease management and advice, while not completely ignoring the underlying mechanisms of actions of drugs. Importantly, there are numerous links to other reference sources and textbooks.

For any textbook aspiring to reach a wide audience, there are two important benchmarks that it must be measured against. These are, is it sufficiently attractive for students to take it off the shelf and read it without becoming disinterested or feeling unable to engage in the text? The visual aspect of the text and style of writing is important. Secondly, and particularly for undergraduate texts, is the index sufficiently detailed, so that most issues can be readily accessed almost as a reference source?

On both counts the book passes easily. On the former question, the text is quite clear and considers the clinical options. It seems that it will hold interest although after a while the reddish hue to every diagram does become overly familiar and the use of additional colours (costs allowing) would be welcomed. Regarding the latter question of the index, this also appears quite detailed and the only omission that I found was for "power calculations", which is featured in sufficient detail in the clinical trials chapter.

Finally the pharmacopoeia is drawn from a list of approximately 300 compounds in mainstream clinical use (presumably the authors' choice) and helpfully includes the structure of many drugs.

Overall, the text is well presented and I believe a worthy addition for medical libraries. It will be a useful guide particularly for medical students and even, I would suggest, for those who have qualified.

Trevor G. Smart