Customer Reviews

Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine (Oxford Handbooks Series)

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I purchased this book prior to travelling on a medical mission trip to Malawi, Africa. It was extremely valuable, particularly for dealing with tuberculosis, malaria, and the complicated issues of malnutrition. The classification of diarrheal illnesses was superb. While I am a pediatrician here in the U.S., I was called upon to care for adults in Malawi, and this book was extremely helpful to jog my memory and assist me in the care of all of the people. One of the book's main assets is the size, which easily fits into a white-coat pocket or backpack. It much more practical than the traditional and cumbersome texts on tropical medicine. My partner borrowed the book for a trip to Cambodia and also found it to be useful. This book in combination with the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy is all the printed resource one will need when travelling to a tropical country to practice medicine.

This book probably contains the most information on tropical medicine that any non-specialist is ever likely to be able to carry in any form, written, electronic or memorised. It's small enough to slip into the jeans pocket, rugged enough to survive the tropical storm and practical enough to make you treat typhoid safely and effectively with no prior experience. One particular advantage is that, unlike other and larger books on "tropical medicine", it is intended for those who actually happen to work there, rather than for courses conducted in First world countries. That means that it is not simply an endless review of increasing rare eponymous parasitoses that dwells long and lovingly on their appearances on CT and MRI, while being correspondingly vague on their actual treatment. Rather it is a strictly practical manual of the diseases which happen to be endemic in most tropical countries and the management options that are likely to be available in relatively poor countries. As a result, it really functions as the tropical equivalent of its older brother, the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine - every junior doctor's best friend. The mark of Collier and Longmore is apparent not just in the familiar format, but also in the terse, clear (but never merely dogmatic) recommendations for management and also is the gentle good humour with which they are delivered. Admittedly, that strength can also be a weakness. Substantial chunks of the book appear to have been largely lifted from the last edition of big brother. And, perhaps as a result, some of the treatment recommendations seem a year or two out of date, especially in fast-changing fields such as the management of heart failure. Nevertheless, no doctor should venture south of Dover (or Miami) without this book tucked firmly and comfortingly into the back pocket of her jeans.

I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE DURING A MONTH LONG STINT IN A MISSION HOSPITAL IN TOGO, WEST AFRICA. THIS BOOK IS CONCISE AND WELL ORGANIZED AND THOROUGH. IT IS EASY TO USE AND SMALL ENOUGH TO CARRY IN YOUR POCKET. FOR THOSE WHO ARE WELL VERSED IN WESTERN MEDICINE BUT INEXPERIENCED IN TROPICAL MEDICINE, THIS IS AN INVALUABLE RESOURSE THAT WILL MAKE YOUR NEW EXPERIENCE MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. THIS BOOK WILL ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT TROPICAL MEDICINE IN A CONCISE MANNER AND SUGGEST A PLAIN, EASY TO FOLLOW TREATMENT PLAN. I LEFT MY COPY ON THE MISSION FIELD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO WILL FOLLOW ME, BUT WHEN I RETURN I WILL BE SURE TO HAVE ANOTHER COPY FOR MYSELF. MARK S. ABEL, MD

a very good pocket book for tropical medicine, for a full coverage mansons tropical pathology should be looked at but for a handy little companion to travel around with this is excellent.

I stumbled across the Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine in a bookshop in Lilongwe, Malawi earlier this month and picked up a copy. Rather than a medical professional, I am an archaeologist who works in rural Africa for 2-3 months each year and have repeatedly found myself playing doctor for members of my team in areas where medical care is hours away, if available at all. I have had wilderness first aid training, used to volunteer in a hospital ER, and have a strong biology background so I was able to understand 75-80% of the Oxford Handbook with careful reading and found it very useful, especially the chapters on malaria and tuberculosis, and the section on bilharzia. That being said, this guide is clearly written for doctors, nurses, or physicians assistants (or someone training for one of those careers) and NOT for the average traveler headed off to the developing world for the first time. If you are going on safari or are off to do a brief stint of volunteer work someplace in tropical Africa find yourself a good first aid guide and download the latest info from the CDC on malaria prophylaxis ([...])

I used this book as a comprehensive & concise reference while at a hospital & clinics in rural Zimbabwe, and left the book with a clinic nurse when I departed; he has found it invaluable. Next time, I'll bring several copies of this book (as well as more soccer balls!) to donate to health care facilities. The lack of opportunities for continuing education and poor internet access makes written reference works like this essential.

I used this book on a medical humanitarian mission to Africa because I didn't want to lug my huge textbooks around. It was the perfect size to fit in my carry on and fanny pack. The material was clear, concise, and up to date. I used it every day of my trip, and would recommend it to physicians or other health care professionals.

I stay part time in rural India and this book is awesome. It addresses issues that I had begun to believe I would never find solid information about. It also gives treatment options that keep Third World Medicine in mind. Very practical.

I recently spent some time in a small, rural clinic in sub-saharan Africa, and this book was by far the most useful tool I had. This is not at all a book on disease theory or etiology - it is purely practical. Concisely, what to suspect, how to diagnosis, and how to treat (e.g., step-by-step instructions on how to Giemsa stain a blood smear). One feature I especially appreciated was how this book doesn't make any assumptions about what diagnostic tools you have available; it explains how to best make decisions both with and without radiology, bacterial cultures, etc. The size of this book of course precludes certain information, the incorporation and discussion of WHO treatment guidelines is incredibly valuable.

I had this book among several others while working in rural Uganda. I quickly forgot the other texts and had this stuffed in my back pocket on the wards and going for housecalls. I'm an internist, so when a measles outbreak started I really appreciated the great section on managing this disease. This text contains the essentials for all aspects of medicine in tropical, resource-poor settings as well as great nutritional information. I will bring this book whenever when workng abroad.