Medical Management of Liver Disease (Clinical Guides to Medical Management) [Hardcover]

Krawitt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0824719689 | ISBN-13: 978-0824719685 | Publication Date: July 13, 1999 | Edition: 1

Addresses problems and opportunities associated with the tremendous recent progress in liver disease and transplantation! This extremely practical reference covers the natural history, diagnosis, and treatments of all major categories of liver ailments-viral hepatitis, drug-and alcohol-induced disease, steatosis, hemochromatosis, biliary disease, and autoimmune liver disease-synthesizing recent findings with classical treatments and therapies. Provides up-to-date information for primary care and intensive care physicians faced with daily management of serious complications of liver diseases in various clinical environments! Written by over 80 international hepatologists and gastroenterologists, Medical Management of Liver Disease · covers Wilson's disease, granulomatous hepatitis, parasitic diseases, cryoglobulinemia, AIDS, and other less common disorders · discusses liver-specific cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma · analyzes relationships among hepatitis viruses, including coinfection with hepatitis B and D · delineates serological and virological assays for acute and chronic hepatitis · examines treatments and vaccines for hepatitis A and B · reviews recently emerged hepatotropic viruses · explores HIV and other infectious diseases · deals extensively with management of complications, including bleeding, ascites, encephalopathy, lung and heart problems, and coagulation disorders · and more! Containing over 700 references and over 250 helpful drawings, photographs, and tables, Medical Management of Liver Disease is indispensable for gastroenterologists, hepatologists, family physicians, internists, intensivists, hospitalists, pathologists, and graduate and medical school students in these disciplines.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

Knowledge of liver disease has increased enormously in the past few years and has changed both the diagnosis and the treatment of hepatic disorders. Medical treatments of viral hepatitis and portal hypertension are among the important advances of the past decade in this field. This progress clearly justifies the publication of Medical Management of Liver Disease, and the editor is to be congratulated on his initiative.

The book has 10 parts, which are divided into a total of 44 chapters written by experts who are mainly from the United States but also from Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, and Denmark. All the chapters include an up-to-date introduction on the pathogenesis of the condition under discussion as well as full coverage of diagnosis and therapy. The first part, which contains four chapters, is devoted to the treatment of patients with high serum liver-enzyme levels, abnormal imaging findings, jaundice, and abnormal results on virologic tests. It will be especially interesting to general practitioners. The second part, which includes six chapters, deals with viral hepatitis and its management. The third part includes four chapters dedicated to autoimmune liver disease. The other parts of the book focus on alcoholic liver disease (2 chapters), gallstones (2 chapters), liver infections (3 chapters), hepatobiliary neoplasms (2 chapters), complications of liver disease, such as portal hypertension and encephalopathy (9 chapters), the care of patients before and after liver transplantation (2 chapters), and other hepatopathies, such as metabolic and congenital liver disease and fulminant liver failure (10 chapters).

In addition to liver diseases that clinicians see often and that are best known by internists and gastroenterologists, such as chronic viral hepatitis or alcoholic liver disease, the book also covers subjects not usually discussed in textbooks or reviews. These include the management of cryoglobulinemia related to hepatitis C virus infection, overlap syndromes, chronic liver disease (including nutritional support), cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, granulomatous hepatitis, and parasitic liver disease, which is covered in depth.

All the chapters include tables, algorithms, and black-and-white figures. Works included in the bibliographies, which are up to date, are of a general type, and the references are not cited in the text. As a result, sometimes the discussion reflects an author's own opinion rather than an established fact. There is some irregularity in emphasis among the chapters, to the point that a common problem such as the management of chronic hepatitis C is covered in only 15 pages, whereas primary sclerosing cholangitis, a much less common entity, is covered in 16 pages.

The book has some minor defects. Examples are the absence of the latest data on the use of interferon and ribavirin combination therapy in the management of chronic hepatitis C and the lack of any mention of the role of nitrates and beta-blockers for secondary prophylaxis against variceal bleeding and the role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. In the chapter on pulmonary complications of liver disease, the hepatopulmonary syndrome is covered in depth, but pulmonary hypertension is not. These pulmonary complications of chronic liver disease are equally common and are very important in the evaluation of patients for liver transplantation. A chapter on the use of pharmacologic agents by patients with cirrhosis would have been an interesting addition to the book.

Altogether, I found this book an excellent and useful review of the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease, one that contains information not found in any other book published thus far. This book covers almost all aspects of the medical management of liver disease in a brief but complete manner. It will be especially interesting to internists and gastroenterologists.

Reviewed by Jaime Guardia, M.D.
Copyright © 2000 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 664 pages
• Publisher: Informa Healthcare; 1 edition (July 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824719689
• ISBN-13: 978-0824719685
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,550,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)