Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Orthopedics, ed 3.

Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Orthopedics, ed 3 Skinner HB, ed. New York, NY 10121-2298, Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill, 2003, paperback, 768 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-07-138758-7, $59.95.

Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Orthopedics provides a ready source of information on disorders and diseases treated by orthopedic surgeons. Medical students, residents and house officers, emergency department physicians, and family practitioners and internists also will find this a useful reference text.

The book is organized primarily by anatomic structure and secondarily by subspecialty (eg, sports medicine, band surgery). The text follows the format used in Lange's CURRENT series. Major diagnostic features of disease states, the natural history of selected diseases, clinical features, diagnostic work-ups, conservative and surgical interventions, and prognosis are emphasized. Etiology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, and pathology also are included when they help readers arrive at a definitive diagnosis or understanding of diseases or conditions. The following topics are concisely presented in 13 chapters: basic science principles used in orthopedic surgery, general orthopedic surgery considerations, musculoskeletal trauma, sports medicine, spinal diseases and injuries, tumors, reconstructive surgery, infections, foot/ankle surgery, hand surgery, pediatrics, amputations, and general rehabilitation. The text seems to cover these topics comprehensively.

This edition contains several new items while retaining outstanding features from earlier editions. The book's continued coverage of basic science principles provides the foundation necessary for an understanding of the patient with an orthopedic condition. In addition, numerous figures, tables, and images complement the well-written narrative. I especially liked the location of the references immediately following the material covered, rather than at the end of the chapter. For the most part, references have been updated, although not consistently. For example, the section on gait analysis was current but the information on surgical management of cerebral palsy (in the chapter on pediatric orthopedics) was not as current.

Some of the book's new features include: comprehensive differential diagnostic tables for bony and soft tissue tumors; advances in the understanding of back pain; surgical management of osteoporosis; operative care of shoulder arthritis; new information on joint replacements, growth factors, and COX-2 inhibitors; and discussions of ethics, pain management, blood replacement, and treatment and prevention of deep venous thrombosis, to name a few. There was a glaring absence of the use of evidence for best practice, but perhaps this topic is beyond the scope of a text such as this.

The contributors are to be congratulated for continuing the fine tradition of Lange's CURRENT series in this third edition of Diagnosis and Treatment in Orthopedics; it truly provides an encyclopedia of orthopedic information in one volume. I hope that future editions will provide a more critical appraisal of modern and best orthopedic practice. In addition to the book's intended audience, I would also recommend it as a reference book for physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, podiatrists, and athletic trainers. In addition, faculties might consider this text for use in clinical medicine courses related to the musculoskeletal system.

Gordon J. Alderink, PT, PhD

Grand Valley State University

Allendale, Mich

Dr Alderink is Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Department, where he teaches kinesiology, biomechanics, orthopedics, and research methods. He also is Director of Academic Research at the Mary Free Bed Hospital Motion Analysis Center, a laboratory that performs gait analyses to help manage patients with orthopedic or neurological pathologies.