Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases: Essentials of Diagnostic Microbiology by Paul G. Engelkirk, Janet Duben-Engelkirk

From the Publisher

Designed for associate-degree MLT/CLT programs and baccalaureate MT/CLS programs, this textbook presents the essentials of clinical microbiology. It provides balanced coverage of specific groups of microorganisms and the work-up of clinical specimens by organ system, and also discusses the role of the microbiology laboratory in regard to emerging infections, healthcare epidemiology, and bioterrorism. Clinical case studies and self-assessment questions show how to incorporate the information into everyday practice. More than 400 illustrations and visual information displays enhance the text. Essentials boxes, chapter outlines, key terms, summaries, and other study aids help students retain information. A bound-in CD-ROM includes additional review questions, case studies, and Web links.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Valerie L Ng, PhD MD(Alameda County Medical Center/Highland Hospital)
Description:This book on basic topics in clinical microbiology comes with a CD-ROM with additional learning materials and a website link and password to access resources for students or course directors. The textbook itself is conventional, nothing novel. The CD-ROM contains additional material not considered to be basic, but the presentation is strictly a view and read format; there is no interactivity, so there is no obvious advantage to presenting the material on a CD-ROM. As for the website, I was unable to gain access so I was unable to evaluate the resources there. When I typed in the URL for the website, I got the dreaded "404" error message and I also was unable to gain access at the publisher's home page.
Purpose:It is intended for use in an introductory course for clinical microbiology/infectious diseases, and to cover basic essential topics that would fit into a single semester course.
Audience:The book nicely meets the authors' intent as a textbook for students. Both authors are quite credible authorities in both clinical microbiology and education.
Features:The 26 chapters in the book cover all the basics of clinical microbiology. I liked the concise writing and clear exposition style. The text is accurate and factual and crisp. The abundance of color photographs nicely illustrate the topics under discussion. A nice feature is the cover page of each of the bacterial identification chapters, which uses the traditional bacteriology identification algorithm (Gram stain and morphology). Also very nice is the table in thevirology chapter showing which method is preferred for detecting which virus (e.g., culture versus molecular amplification versus serology versus antigen detection). Appendix A contains laboratory procedures, including the actual ATCC strains to use for quality control, a nice touch to have all this information in one place. A few comments about the features that did not live up to my expectations. My disappointment with this publication is restricted to the rather rudimentary use of technologies that have much potential to engage student interest and create excitement. The CD-ROM promises additional materials (case studies, self assessments, related information puzzles). I was disappointed that the material was presented in a simple PDF-like format; not the best use of a CD-ROM. Curious about the puzzles, I found them ho-hum. The two I viewed, a crossword puzzle and a find the hidden word in a jumble of letters, are at an elementary school level and certainly not at the level of students who would be taking this type of course. Finally, I was quite disappointed in not being able to access the website.
Assessment:This is a great introductory text for clinical laboratory scientist students or anyone interested in clinical microbiology. I have already placed it in the collection available to CLS trainees in my lab.

Product Details

• ISBN: 0781797012
  
• ISBN-13: 9780781797016
• Format: Textbook Hardcover, 754pp
• Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Pub. Date: October 2007
• Edition Number: 1
• Sales Rank: 182,377

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents