Physician-informed medical book reviews and clinical education resources.
Fenichel’s Clinical Pediatric Neurology (2019) is principally for pediatricians and neurologists, but there are very good reasons why generalists should have a good look at this book as well: it’s well organized in its clinical approach and will help you learn how to solve clinical problems in other fields too. Take, for example, hexosaminidase A … Read more
Color Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology (2007) would ordinarily lie on the margins of the spectrum of books that I’d consider review-worthy: it’s approximately 400 pages long, has multiple authors and is, well, a textbook. Longer, multiple-author textbooks tend to fall apart conceptually at about 400 pages in length. This book, however, holds things together very … Read more
Vademecum Metabolicum (2011) is an expensive, weirdly named, and hard-to-find 150-page niche book, but it’s the best in its genre. “Vademecum” is Latin for “handbook.” (I know this because I looked it up). So, this is a handbook about metabolic disorders. The book contains virtually everything you need to know if you are, or want … Read more
The Malformed Infant and Child: An Illustrated Guide (1983) is one of the finest medical books ever written. It is as unique and relevant today as it was when it was first published more than 35 years ago. The book contains monographs with exquisitely accurate and informative drawings of various congenital malformations including environmental (toxic) … Read more
I write with reverence about what I believe to be one of the best medical books of all time: Moffet’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 5e (2017). The main problem with tackling infectious diseases from a diagnostic standpoint is that ID can be hard to classify clinically. The traditional approach is, basically, to ask the question Does the patient have … Read more
The differential diagnosis of purpura in children is guided by two factors: the patient’s illness appearance and platelet count. Sick children with low platelet counts may have conditions like meningococcemia or leukemia, while well children could have Henoch–Schönlein purpura. Always consider meningococcemia in symptomatic cases.
The formula for writing an exceptionally good radiology book is pretty straightforward: Well-organized chapters based on cardinal clinical scenarios Specific recommendations with regard to when and whom to image (or not to image!) Excellent images and annotations Primary Pediatric Radiology, by Susan Williamson, M.D., delivers on all of these points. It is a clinically oriented book, with … Read more