Bronchial Asthma: A Guide for Practical Understanding and Treatment

From The Critics

Reviewer: David C. Sutherland, MB ChB, BSc, FR(Nineways Specialist Clinic)
Description: This is the fifth edition of a comprehensive guide to the diagnosis and management of bronchial asthma. Previous editions have been well reviewed and this edition provides an update of recent developments and relatively new drug therapy, along with a greater number of tables and charts, which are deemed to make the book more user friendly. The coverage is encyclopedic, with chapters, and indeed sections within chapters, written so that they will stand alone. This is both the strength and the weakness of this book.
Purpose: The book is designed to provide rapid access to practical information regarding the diagnosis and management of bronchial asthma, gleaned from an enormous number of scientific studies and reviews published over the last 30 years.
Audience: It is intended to provide practical information for generalists and for specialists other than chest physicians and allergists/immunologists, as at least all clinicians will be required to manage this common condition as part of the total care of their patients.
Features: The scope of the book is comprehensive, ranging from basic immunology and pulmonary physiology, through management issues and specific clinical problems, to lifestyle issues. The format allows rapid access to information, through the use of key points, numerous tables and figures, and summaries. Most chapters provide comprehensive, up-to-date lists of references.
Assessment: This book succeeds in its aim of providing practical, readily accessible information about the diagnosis and management ofbronchial asthma for those without a specialist interest in the area. However, this format means that that book is not designed to be read from cover to cover, and even within single chapters, there is a great deal of repetition. The format does allow for the inclusion of a great deal of detailed information which may be of interest to individual clinicians, or perhaps relevant to the management of specific patients, but not necessarily of interest to the general reader. Much of the information (for example epidemiology, drug information, health delivery issues, and the management of asthma in minorities) is directed to the North American audience, and has less relevance to clinicians elsewhere. Overall, this is a very useful resource, and should be included in all institutional libraries. The ease of access to detailed information will make it an attractive resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students outside of the areas of respiratory medicine and allergy/immunology.