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Hospital pharmacists are more involved with antimicrobial prescribing
than ever before. It is therefore timely that this book, designed to
introduce junior doctors and other health care professionals to the principles
of rational antimicrobial prescribing, has been updated. The authors,
recognised specialists in the field of microbiology and infectious diseases,
conclude that these principles are needed in order for us all to foster
good habits of antimicrobial use.
This A5-size book contains the following four chapters: general principles
of antimicrobial agents, resistance to antimicrobial agents, general
principles of usage of antimicrobials, and the therapeutic use of antimicrobial
agents.
Easy to navigate, the body of the text is black while chapter and section
titles are in blue. Blue banners are used next to section titles, eg, “pseudomonas
infections only” for polymyxins, allowing readers to locate information
more easily. There is also the “prescriber’s survival kit” which
is a table of concise points useful as an aid for remembering particular
facts.
Unfortunately the text does not include dosages (except for endocarditis,
tuberculosis and meningitis) probably because the authors conclude that “there
are no universally applicable guidelines for drug dosing”. However,
this is particularly frustrating in the last chapter where one would
expect to find both antimicrobial dosages and choices for treating specific
infections but find only the latter.
Although graphs and figures are referenced, the remainder of the text
is not. Furthermore, not all chapters provide suggestions for further
reading but an overall list is given at the end of the book.
Despite these minor points, this book is great value for money and one
that its owner will revisit again and again.
Mark Cheeseman
(regional medicines information pharmacist at East Anglia Medicines
Information Service, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust)
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal