Medical Book Reviews by Mark Yoffe, MD

Book Review: Illegal Drugs, A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse

4 October, 20144 March, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

You can judge this book by its title. Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse (2003) by Paul M. Gahlinger MD is, in fact, an extremely comprehensive treatment of both illegal and legal psychoactive substances, including their history, law, chemistry, processing and distribution, metabolism, neuroscience, medical management, linguistics, folklore, and popular culture. Hundreds of … Read more

Book Review: Clinician’s Guide to Laboratory Medicine: Pocket

4 October, 201425 February, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

Clinician’s Guide to Laboratory Medicine: Pocket (2009) by Samir P. Desai MD is an excellent handbook about the use laboratory studies in clinical medicine. Almost every laboratory abnormality contains an extensive differential diagnosis, along with an intelligent and efficient approach to further workup and diagnosis. It contains dozens of useful charts, algorithms and tables. The hematology and … Read more

Book Review: Primary Care Otolaryngology

4 October, 201418 February, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

Primary Care Otolaryngology is a free downloadable publication by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. You can get it here. The original version of the book was written by J. Gregory Staffel, MD more than fifteen years ago and was most recently updated in 2011. It was written primarily for medical students, but it would serve … Read more

Book Review: Acing the Hepatology Questions on the GI Board Exam

1 October, 201411 February, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

Acing the Hepatology Questions on the GI Board Exam, the Ultimate Crunch-Time Resource by Brennan M.R. Spiegel (2012) is an excellent choice for anyone who is looking for a solid understanding of hepatic pathology, diagnostics and therapeutics. The book is vignette-driven and features most of the important and high-yield hepatic conditions including acetaminophen overdose, viral hepatitides, and dozens … Read more

Book Review: 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide by Brian J. Levine MD

27 July, 201531 January, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

My overall favorable impression of the 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide is similar to that of the 2011 edition, about which I wrote: For almost any infectious disease, the text advises you about which antibiotic to use, along with the appropriate dose, route, frequency and duration. In addition, the text provides you with various alternatives and contingency antibiotic … Read more

Systemic Causes of Pruritus (Itching)

29 September, 201430 January, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

The main systemic causes of itching are: Cholestasis Uremia Pregnancy-related problems Lymphoproliferative (especially systemic mastocytosis) and hematopoietic disorders, including iron deficiency anemia Endocrinal problems such as hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus Drug side effects, such as opioids and drugs which cause cholestasis. Allergic reactions Therefore, in the absence of primary skin findings, a basic workup for itching might … Read more

Book Review: Acid-Base Case Studies, 2e

23 October, 201922 January, 2013 by Mark Yoffe, MD

I’ve been looking at Acid-Base Case Studies (2004) by Ira Kurtz MD for a long time now, at least since I’ve written several months ago, wrongly, that a solid book with a case-based approach to acid-base disorders does not exist. It does in fact exist, and this is it. The book presents the reader with dozens of clinical … Read more