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Clinical gastroenterology: a practical problem-based approach. Nicholas J Talley, Christopher J Martin. Sydney: Maclennan and Petty 1996 (xi+448 pp.). ISBN: 0-86433-097-9. |
I remember being
somewhat lost for words when, as a trainee, I took a phone call from a general practitioner wanting advice about a young woman who complained of passing much offensive flatus. Which book or journal could I turn to? Although problem-solving is how we practise medicine, many textbooks do not take this approach, choosing to cover topics under specific diseases rather than the problems as they confront us in clinical practice. The problem-based approach taken in this text is very useful for dealing with many gastroenterological disorders, and can help take the mystique out of managing conditions that practitioners often find difficult (for example, perianal pain, halitosis, food "allergy", incontinence, and non-cardiac chest pain). Most chapters cover aspects of the history and examination relevant to a specific problem and then detail the investigative steps available and treatment options. Written by two Australians, a prominent gastroenterologist and a prominent surgeon, this is essentially a medical text, but the surgical perspective is given for appropriate disorders. It is difficult to create a book that is sufficiently simple and succinct for medical students, relevant to general practice, and with the depth of knowledge required for trainees in gastroenterology. Ultimately, I suspect this book will have greatest appeal to students and general practitioners. Clinical gastroenterology. A practical problem-based approach is easy to read, well laid out, and has ample tables, lists, figures and photographs. There are no colour plates, which detracts slightly, but this, presumably, has allowed the cost to be kept to a reasonable minimum. Geoffrey M Forbes
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