Clinician's Handbook of Prescription Drugs. (Book Reviews).

Authors: Seymour Ehrenpries and Eli D. Ehrenpries

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2001

Progress in pharmaceutics is so rapid that it is virtually impossible for any book to contain all the latest information about all the commercially available medication that clinicians may wish to prescribe to their patients. In their book, Clinician's Handbook of Prescription Drugs, the authors have made a valiant effort at presenting valuable and important information in a succinct manner. The authors, however, are very much aware of the possible deficiencies of their book and emphasize that readers should check the accuracy of the data by consulting the product information sheet.

The medications are listed according to their generic names. A table at the beginning of the book lists the medication according to the brand name and the generic name. Information about each medication includes the brand name, class of drug, mechanism of action, indications/dosage/route of administration, adjustment of dosage, onset of action, peak effect, and duration, whether there are any drug/food interactions, pregnancy category, any information available on effects during lactation, warnings and precautions, advice to patients, adverse reactions, clinically important drug interactions, parameters to monitor, and finally editorial comments.

The data are presented in a very succinct style and are easy to find. Unfortunately, there are some glaring deficiencies: raloxifene (Evista), for instance, is not mentioned; risedronate (Actonel) is listed as being approved only for Paget's disease of bone (and not osteoporosis, not even corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis); and the weekly dose of alendronate (Fosamax) is not mentioned.

Clinicians also may get irritated by some of the statements such as, for instance, that the "Diagnosis of Paget's disease depends on the following findings: alkaline phosphatase level at least twice that of the upper normal range, characteristic radiography" (p 17). No mention is made of other diagnostic modalities available. Similarly, why and how long should the BP, pulse, and EGG be monitored when calcitonin is administered (p 129)?

The book will be useful to give potential readers a quick synopsis about the medication they are interested in. This should, however, be followed by a more thorough and in-depth search of the information available.