Shetty N, Tang JW, Andrews J: Infectious Disease: Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Case Studies. 1st edition. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell; 2009

Description

This practical textbook summarizes clinical microbiology and infectious diseases in a basic and easy-to-read way. The first part, on general principles of infectious diseases, gives information about microbiology, diagnosis, and antimicrobial chemotherapy and provides fundamental concepts of epidemiology. The second part presents infectious diseases of the main organ systems. The third part addresses specific procedures when treating children and immunocompromised patients and gives a useful overview of health care-associated infections. The fourth part addresses infections of a more global perspective such as tuberculosis, HIV, and influenza, and the final part is devoted to emerging and re-emerging infections.

Purpose

This textbook aims to be a supplemental overview of basic infectious disease concepts in an era of widely accessible internet resources. The book makes various references to websites and uses graphical material that can be downloaded from public websites such as those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. The chapters are written in a practical manner in order to give structured information about background, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and diagnosis and treatment.

Intended readership

The book is intended mainly for medical students and can be recommended for undergraduate course work in infectious diseases. Even a clinician may find some of the chapters useful in order to get a quick overview of a topic or to find useful websites. However, because of the lack of specific treatment recommendations and coverage of differential diagnoses, the book clearly is not suitable for the daily routine of critical care physicians or experienced clinicians, let alone infectious disease specialists.

Content/Features

Overall, the book does a good job of summarizing and presenting the essentials of infectious diseases. Of specific interest is that it offers chapters covering diagnosis of microbial infection, general principles of antimicrobial therapy, and health care-associated infection. Senior medical students and junior house officers will find these practical chapters very useful either to have an introduction to the topic or to get a quick refresher. Important issues, illustrative clinical cases, and questions/answers are nicely summarized in boxes.

Assessment/Comparison

This first edition of Infectious Disease: Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Case Studies provides comprehensive information about pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases on a basic level for university students. The nine authors succeeded in presenting the wide range of infectious diseases in an organized and clinically relevant manner. We would not be surprised if some of our students were to choose a career in microbiology or infectious diseases after reading this well-illustrated and interesting textbook.