Antibiotic Basics for Clinicians: Choosing the Right Antibacterial Agent by Alan R Hauser

Product Details

Synopsis

Designed for quick, easy comprehension, this handbook reference will assist medical students in understanding the rationale behind antibiotic selection for common bacterial pathogens and infectious disease presentations. By supplying the rationale for choosing antibiotics, the book reduces the amount of memorization necessary for proper antibiotic prescribing.

The book is heavily illustrated with two-color figures and includes fact-anecdotes, interesting ancillary information, mnemonics, and questions to test understanding. Appendices include dosing in adults and children; antibacterial agents in pregnancy; generic and trade names of commonly used antibacterial agents; and treatment of infections caused by bacterial agents of bioterrorism.

Annotation

This handbook reference will assist medical students in understanding the rationale behind antibiotic selection for common bacterial pathogens and infectious disease presentations. By supplying the rationale for choosing antibiotics, the book reduces the amount of memorization necessary for proper antibiotic prescribing. Designed for quick, easy comprehension, the book is heavily illustrated with two-color figures and includes fact-anecdotes, interesting ancillary information, mnemonics, and questions to test understanding. Appendices include dosing in adults and children; antibacterial agents in pregnancy; generic and trade names of commonly used antibacterial agents; and treatment of infections caused by bacterial agents of bioterrorism.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Joseph R. Lentino, MD, PhD (Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine)
Description:This is a wonderful manual for medical students and residents who are learning the intricacies of antimicrobial agents. The book is divided into six sections: an introduction to the basic mechanisms of antimicrobial action; a concise review of antimicrobial agents; the commonest organisms associated with infections; a review of clinical settings in which empiric therapies are required and the rationale behind those decisions; clinical vignettes; and a review section of the material with questions and answers. Appendixes assist the reader with dosing in different populations.
Purpose:The book achieves its objectives in a succinct and successful manner. It helps readers understand how antibiotics work and when and where they are used in clinical situations. All students of medicine should have a basic understanding of the use of antibiotics, which have revolutionized medical practice to a greater extent than any other class of agents in the past 60 years. This well written book meets that objective.
Audience:Although written at the level of medical students and residents, the book easily can be used by pharmacy students and nurses for any infectious disease or microbiology course. The author is an academic physician at Northwestern University.
Features:Everything the student needs to know about antibiotics is covered in this book. The easily interpreted diagrams simplify the quick review of a particular topic. Interspersed throughout the book are "FACTS" relating the importance of infectious diseases to historyand "quotes" which illustrate the main point of a section or a chapter. These make the book more enjoyable to read. The section on specific organisms has diagrams indicating the most common sites of infection with a particular organism, a great help for visual learners.
Assessment:This is not Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases (Elsevier, 2005) , nor is it a major textbook in the area of pharmacology of antibiotics. However, it accomplishes in very little time what the student learner needs to know about antibiotic usage. The price is modest and affordable for its intended audience of students. Such a book is a bargain.