BOOK REVIEW* * This book is available at the Library of the Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
MANDELL, Gerald L.; BENNETT, John E. & DOLIN, Raphael, ed. - Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's: principles and practice of infectious diseases. 5. ed. New York, Churchill Livingstone, 2000. 2v. (Volume One ISBN 0-443-07983-8 and Volume Two ISBN 0-443-07524-7)
Infectious diseases remain the number one killer of human beings in the world as we approach the new millennium. Our knowledge of the role of infectious agents in malignancies, heart disease, rheumatic disease, gastrointestinal disease, and other "idiopathic" diseases continues to grow and expand. Preventive options and therapeutic strategies are changing rapidly, with the development of new vaccines, new antimicrobial agents, and innovative immunotherapies.
Our goal was to make this the most complete, authoritative, and up-to-date reference book in the world, and we believe that we and the contributing authors have succeeded.
In this, the fifth edition, we have added new chapters (e.g., Human genetics and infection; Global Epidemiology; New and Emerging Infectious Diseases; Hyperbaric oxygen; Oxazolidinones; Antimicrobial agent utilization and cost control; Rome intravenous therapy; Human herpesvirus 8; Microbial warfare and terrorism; Health care reform and the ID specialist; The ID physician and the internet). The AIDS/HIV Section has been completely rewritten and expanded. All chapters have been revised or rewritten, and new authors have been selected for many chapters. We are grateful to our authors and are in awe of their dedication and expertise.
Marc Strauss at Churchill Livingstone has been our advocate for excellence, and we thank him for that. Once again, Judith, Shirley, and Kelly get our thanks for putting up with distracted, overworked, and sometimes cranky husbands during the 2 years that it took to complete this latest and best edition.
(Preface to the Fifth Edition - Gerald L. Mandell, M.D. John E. Bennett, M.D. Raphael Dolin, M.D.)
BITES AND STINGS FROM VENOMOUS ANIMALS: ROUTINE MANUAL
Bites and stings from venomous animals remain an important public health problem in Brazil, both in rural (e.g. snake bites) and urban (e.g. spider bites and scorpion stings) areas. The Brazilian Ministry of Health publishes a manual (last published in 1998) on epidemiological and clinical aspects of bites and stings of medical interest. Although of good quality, the Ministry of Health's manual relies mostly from the experience from southeastern Brazil, which is not necessarily directly applicable to other parts of the country. Drs. Pardal and Yuki's manual tries to fill this gap for the Amazon region, a huge area so far little explored regarding injuries from venomous animals. Written by specialists from Pará state, the manual consists mostly of flow charts and short texts, which should facilitate the reading by general practitioners and other health professionals working in isolated communities in the Amazon, for whom the manual was designed to help.
A careful reading of the text reveals a few flaws. For instance, the recommended dose of ranitidine for prevention of anaphylactic reaction following antivenom administration (by itself of debatable efficacy) is incorrect, and so it is the statement that the severity of bee stings depends on hypersensitivity and not on the number of stings (both can be important). The legends of the pictures of a stingray and a piranha have only the scientific name of the fish, assuming that the reader knows the animal, what cannot be taken for granted for a text written for the uninitiated. The manual would also benefit from larger pictures to make easier the recognition of the animals by the reader. In fact, the authors should consider substituting some of the pictures in the case of a second edition of their manual.
Although not perfect, Drs. Pardal and Yuki's "Acidentes por Animais Peçonhentos: manual de rotinas" will certainly be an important source of information for health professionals working in or traveling to the Amazon region, for whom it is strongly recommended.
This Manual is available from the first author at Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Rua dos Munducurus 4487, Guamá, 66073-000 Belém, PA, Brazil.
Sérgio de Andrade Nishioka, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculdade de Medicina
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
04 July 2001 -
Date of issue
June 2001
