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Canadian Pharmaciest
Canadian Pharmaciest
Anticonvulsant medications are discussed in depth, and I am sure that this information will be very useful to practising pharmacists. The final section covers the psychosocial aspects of epilepsy. The way in which this information is presented may help the reader to gain an appreciation for some of the challenges faced by children and families living with epilepsy. There have been many advances in the understanding and treatment of epilepsy in recent years. This book will be an essential reference for pharmacists caring for children with seizures and epilepsy. I highly recommended this book to any health care practitioner who participates in the care of infants and children with epilepsy.
Aleksandra Bjelajac Mejia, BSPharm, PharmD, RPh Department of Pharmacy Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario
names of drugs as well as the US trade names. Because of the time lag inherent in book publishing, there is no mention of doripenem, a new carbapenem that was approved in the United States in October 2007. Although an e-book version of this text has been created, it was not available for review. The book has many useful colour images of infectious diseases, usually absent from pharmacy texts. Photos showing the appearance of blepharitis or chicken pox might be useful for new practitioners and those on the front lines of health care, including community pharmacists. The text also has many diagnostic tables and treatment charts; these are sometimes distracting and will probably not be as valuable for pharmacists. Lab values are presented in non-SI units, and the book lists antibiotics that are not available in Canada, such as nafcillin and amoxicillin sulbactam. Most pharmacists will rightly look to more local treatment guidelines whenever possible. For example, this volume does not suggest extended-interval aminoglycosides as single empiric therapy for uncomplicated pyelonephritis, a reasonable recommendation that is used in some Canadian hospitals. The well-known and influential Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is referenced throughout. As might be expected from the title, pharmacists practising in the emergency department or other urgent care settings will find this book most useful. In particular, the section on special populations will be invaluable. It contains chapters on bites, lice, fever after transplantation, and other topics that frequently arise in emergent care situations. We can hope that the sections on bioterrorism and emerging infections (such as SARS and avian influenza) will be needed only rarely, if at all, but they offer a starting point if such anxiety-charged situations do arise. New pharmacists working in outpatient infectious diseases clinics can learn from this book, especially by reading the chapters on dental and orthopedic infections. The authors and editor set out to produce a practical, clinically oriented, systems-based overview of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on emergent diagnosis and treatment. They have succeeded.
Deana M Sabuda, BSc, BSP, ACPR Pharmacist, Infectous Diseases Foothills Medical Centre Alberta Health Services Calgary, Alberta
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