Reviews & Views

Handbook of Substance Abuse: Neurobehavioral Pharmacology. Sections correspond to drug classes listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1994 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV): alcohol; caffeine; cannabis; cocaine; hallucinogens; inhalants; nicotine; opiates; sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics; and amphetamines. A final section addresses other substances of abuse, including anabolic steroids, ecstasy, and phencyclidine.

Managing Side Effects of Psychotropic Drugs. The authors hope this book will be used as a reference manual on the side effects of psychotropics. It is organized on the basis of side effects rather than by classes of medications.

A recent opinion reveals how the words “drugstore” and “pharmacy” may be interpreted in different ways. It also shows just how valuable the terms may be in conducting pharmacy (or drugstore) business. A pharmacy signed a 20-year lease in 1977 with a commercial landlord, for occupancy of a 15,000-square-foot space in a shopping center.

Introduction to Psychosexual Medicine. If a woman patient innocently remarked, ‘I would not have your job for anything’, just as her doctor was about to perform a vaginal examination, then she may be in need of psychosexual counselling. If you accept this concept then Introduction to psychosexual medicine will be of service as it is predominently Freudian in content.

EDITORIAL – The management of H. pylori infection. Department of Gastroenterology, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. BMJ, 316(7126): 162-163, 17 Jan. 1998.

Important systemic syndromes, such as the drug hypersensitivity syndrome and serum sicknesslike reaction, are poorly presented. The problem arises when a patient mentions a new drug started 7 days ago. Drug reactions are the core of my academic career, and I know how complicated they can be to manage.

Health, happiness and security describes in detail the ideas and events which led to the founding of the National Health Service in 1948. The author intends that the part played by civil servants should form the central thread of a narrative which begins in 1911. But, seen through the eyes of a doctor, this is an account of the medical profession’s movement towards the same goal of a comprehensive service and the struggles which this movement entailed — struggles to avoid the control, in turn, of the friendly societies, the approved societies, local authorities and finally, but with less determination, the Department of Health.

Before marketing any drug in the United States, a manufacturer must obtain permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the form of an approved New Drug Application (NDA). As part of this process, the FDA approves the labeling for the new drug.

This book aims to provide medical students and practitioners with a comprehensive survey of clinical signs organized by external body parts. The underlying assumption is that most diagnoses from clinical signs are based on pattern recognition, so the book is a rich collection of colour illustrations of common, rare, and esoteric conditions. Using arrows to highlight the more subtle signs would help readers, like me, who need more guidance.

Family physicians often see patients who misuse drugs. This widespread problem is the source of much hidden morbidity and mortality for patients and much frustration for doctors.

On October 1, 1994, the patient entered a pharmacy that she had never been in before. She had a history of severe asthma and she believed she was suffering an attack when she went to the pharmacy.

James McCormack, Glen Brown, Marc Levine, Robert Rangno, John Ruedy W. This book is not just another multi-authored reference book. It is designed to wean clinicians away from “habitual or intuitive solutions” and to encourage decisions based on explicit factors.

CLINICAL REVIEW SECTION – Helicobacter pylori and gastric diseases. Division of Infectious Diseases, University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA. BMJ, 316(7143): 1507-1510, 16 May 1998.

Cost effectiveness of screening for and eradication of Helicobacfer pylori in management of dyspeptic patients under 45 years of age. BMJ, 312(7042): 1321-1325, 25 May 1996. Varying efficacy of Helicobaeter pylori eradication regimens: cost effectiveness study using decision analysis model.

One of the most frustrating aspects of litigation is the almost endless procedures and complicated court rules that the parties must endure on the way to seeking justice. Procedures sometimes get in the way of substance, much like misplaced focus on a single tree prevents us from seeing a whole forest. Fred’s Stores of Tennessee, demonstrates the problems that can occur when too much emphasis is placed on following court rules and scant attention is paid to the facts at hand.

Approximately 33 million adults in the United States are overweight, and more than a third of these are obese. Obesity carries a number or risks, ranging from hypertension and diabetes mellitus to gallstones. Treatment by restricted diet alone is often unsuccessful because of the inability of obese people to control the craving for food.

Essentials of Drug Therapy is a clearly written book, summarizing information on drugs that are commonly used. It is not a reference text in pharmacology or an exhaustive detailed volume, such as the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties, but is a practical source of information for the medical student and practitioner.

I enjoyed reading and referring to this book, but it does have shortcomings. Perhaps the great length of the preface indicates a recognition by the editors that they have not entirely succeeded in their intentions.

Many third-party prescription drug benefit programs use two-tier pricing schemes that differentiate between “chain” and “independent” pharmacies. In almost all situations, discounts off the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of drugs are smaller for the independents and larger for the chains.