Customer Reviews

Case Files Psychiatry, Third Edition (LANGE Case Files)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm am generally a big, big fan of the Case Files series...the case presentation always helps anchor details in my head better & for longer than the long lists provided in review books, and they always provide a really helpful, practical approach to DDx, Rx & helpful pathognomonic tip-offs. We have memories built for anecdotes, not laundry lists. *However* this particular one is rife with errors...from the harmless (but vaguely annoying) grammatical errors to more worrisome errors of content. Pts with amphetamine intoxication have constricted pupils? L-Dopa & MAOIs have extrapyramidal Sx as side-effects? Really? Also, there are lots of annoying contradictions within a given case presentation. For example, at the beginning of the case of PCP intoxication it says bluntly that benzos "should not be given" since they delay excretion of PCP. Then, two pages later, it says benzos can be given. I understand that distilling practice guidelines to a couple pages can be hard, and that a general rule of thumb can be disregarded when the drug benefit outweighs the side-effects, but the authors do a VERY bad job VERY frequently of couching these sort of things in appropriate language. Don't couch something as a absolute contraindication if it's simply a relative one. Also, within the autistic case file it says that 40% of autistic kids have MR, then in a comprehension question one page later it asks what percentage of autistic children have MR. Choices: A) 100%, B) 50-75%, C) 25-50%, D) 1-5%. Well, you just read not one page before that the answer was C. Problem? The answer is B. Granted, this is pretty minor in the scheme of things, but the frequent, pointed disagreement between the case file text and the comprehension questions that followed immediately afterwards further undermined my confidence in the book's accuracy. I agree with the previous reviewer who suggested that the company rushed publication of this guy...lots of mistakes/inconsistencies/poor phrasing that any half-asleep layperson could catch. That said, I really haven't found a suitable substitute for Case Files. Like all its siblings, it's eminently readable & interesting...I'd be hard-pressed to say I prefer a textbook to my leisure reading, but this comes darn close. And let me tell you, I'm a real baby about making my textbook reading as palatable as possible, so this is high praise. Bottom line: I'm going to be super vigilant about double-checking this particular book's content against less 'readable' review books, and I'd recommend you do the same. Also, maybe we reviewers can do the public service of listing mistakes w/ pg numbers that we individually find for future readers/purchasers of this book.

During third year of medical school, the way students learn totally changes. The most important information that students retain is going to be about patients they admit, that they see on the wards or work-up while on call. While other study materials give students the "facts," Case Files realizes that the best way for junior and senior medical students to learn is through case presentations. I would say that their format closely resembles the paradigm of how students should learn; a case is presented, discussed, key terms are defined, questions are presented about the text, and the information about the case is summarized. These books almost make it too easy to retain and apply clinically useful information! I used the psychiatry book as a complement to other texts, but it was my sole source of study for ob/gyn.

There were a couple of problems with the book, however. I noticed several spelling and grammatical errors in the psychiatry book; it seems like they may have rushed this to publishing. In addition, after taking the psychiatry shelf exam, I think that more cases should be presented on adolescent issues, psych related general medical conditions, and neurological cases that can get confused with psych problems.

Nevertheless, the series provides a solid foundation of clinical knowledge in all clerkships, as well as helps students retain information for shelf exams. I highly recommend this series to any medical student studying for third year, Step 2 CK, or any medical professional wanting to review material in an extremely clinically relevant way!

This review book covers every concept you need to know in psychiatry, however I found the case scenarios to be a bit too black and white. The actual shelf exam as well as step 2 had much subtler presentations. Also, the section "analysis" was often redundant, a repetition of the summary of the case. I loved having the appropriate diagnostic criteria there where you need it. The quality of the comprehension questions at the end of each section surpass many of those in strict "question books" available for psychiatry, plus you get much more for your money. The approach to the patient section was invaluable alone. I kept a copy with me at all times during my rotation and referred to it often.

This was my go-to study aid for my psych rotation. The cases show how the patient would present to you, and then explains the psychopathology, then asks comprehensive questions that often help you differentiate between other things that may be on the differential.

This was probably the most interesting of the Case Files series, which helps when studying. The medication tables are the beginning are extremely helpful though could have just a few more of those important tidbits we've all come to know are important for answering shelf questions. I'd recommend this product as a good base for your studying unless you're the textbook type.

Based on the content of the Psychiatry clerkship, being so all about differentiation, not of physical signs, but mental signs, & tying the physical to the mental, this book is great for the Psych clerkship. Admittedly, the vignettes are formulaic, & easy to tease out, but it's in the charts of DDx, criteria rundowns, explanations of the s/sx of psychiatric dz that this book is worthy. In addition, its prose is written well enough that it is amendable to plowing through. I waited to study till the last couple weeks, & got through all but a few cases, a couple days, I read 80-some pages. All in all, an excellent resource.

I bought the PDA version of this book (I'm so grateful to fit it into my pocket, along with my other 5 pda texts). This book is amazing, it not only engages the learner in active critical thinking(as opposed to passive reading), it gives a very thorough presentation of each of the 60 topics it covers, with pearls and fine points to differentiate the subtle aspects of history, presentation, etc. for related diagnoses. This book pulls the learner into it, 1 case at a time, until you almost feel as though you interacted with a patient. I love this style, and the depth of information.

Read the first 2 chapters on clinical thinking style, and the clinical mindset algorythm. Amazing.

When preparing for the vignette portion of oral psychiatry boards, I found this book very helpful for quick review and answer template creation. It is very accessibly written and the lack of easy-to-read study materials for the vignette portion of the exam makes it a very useful adjunct and is a nice "restful" prep when compared to the cut-and-dry DSM-IV memorization. One problem many encounter is "freezing up" during the impersonal, time-limited vignette exam - making it difficult to "cough up" all the necessary diagnostic and treatment possibilities within allotted time. The focus on less-is-more in this book allowed me to read it several times and I was able to answer many of similar vignette-related questions on what felt like an auto-pilot. Keep in mind that ABPN oral tests "bread-and-butter" of psychiatry, meaning that it is unlikely that a vignette is going to focus on controversial or arcane areas of the field (unlike SHELF, PRITE or written boards, where anything goes). Obviously, it is very important to practice the vignettes listed on ABPN site and keep your differential as wide as possible. Can't give it 5 stars because of factual errors mentioned by other reviewers.

This is a great read, especially during down time or even as a quick read before bed! The cases are short and give all the necessary 'need to know' info in a concise, organized manner! It really helped when doing write-ups and studying for shelfs!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this for my 3rd year rotation. I typically like more outline/topic organization texts, and I reluctantly bought this b/c other student highly recommended it. And I really liked this book. I have almost exclusively used this for my reading. And while pharmacology is included for each case, I still like to see all the pharmacology in a comparison table. So I had to supplement with an additional text for a more thourogh discussion of pharm-stuff.